


A Whole New Adventure

by loserfanficlover



Series: AWNA Series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26361337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loserfanficlover/pseuds/loserfanficlover
Summary: They say that Universal Studios is the closest way one will experience the Wizarding World. However, only after visiting it did Clarissa realize they meant it... James Potter x SI!OC
Relationships: James Potter/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter & Lily Evans Potter
Series: AWNA Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133111
Comments: 14
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining brightly down among the bustling tourists at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. There was one young tourist who was glaring right back at the sun for being too hot, which only made the experience of carrying multiple bags all the worst. The struggling teen impulsively bought what seemed like half of what the Wizarding World of Harry Potter had to offer. She cursed the “Potterhead” inside of her for making her struggle under this heat. To be fair, she is in Florida, so she had to have anticipated this but at the moment she ignored that rational part of her brain. With a shake of her head, she disregarded the voice in her mind and concentrated on what is the best day of her life to date and continued on with her exploration.

Never having been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the teen took her time visiting all the places in Diagon Alley. If anyone saw this lady, they could tell that she splurged just a bit (please note the sarcasm). Multiple bags dangled on either arm as they swung around when she walked. The teen was determined to go to every shop at both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade in one day, so she was in a bit of a rush. In hindsight, the girl should’ve bought the two-day pass but considering the amount of money she knew she was going to spend on merchandise and the amount of money she had in her bank account, it wasn’t adding up in her favour. So, because of that, she had only a few hours left to explore all of Hogsmeade.

Starting out her trip, Gringotts was her first destination. It made sense, what do you need before a shopping spree? Money of course! The sights were amazing, it was exactly like in the movies that the teen felt like she was actually in Diagon Alley. The buildings were all slanted and quirky looking that it looked physically impossible for them to be standing as sturdy as they were. Upon entering Gringotts (after the 20 minute long wait), she couldn’t take her eyes off of the goblins. She knew they were just robots and couldn’t actually do anything to her, it was still freaky, especially their soul-less eyes. The teen excitedly did all the tourist attractions there, got her picture taken for her vault, rode the ride, exchanged some money, etc. Her next stop was—of course— Ollivander’s.

The line at Ollivander’s felt much longer than the one at Gringotts but it was worth the wait in her opinion! Even before you entered the shop you could see the thousands of boxes that held the most magical of items. There were posters along the walls that described the types of wood the wands represent and their characteristic. Each box was labeled with the character’s name, and you could get an interactive wand or just a regular wand. Although the interactive wand (it lets the bearer cast “spells” around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade at certain spots) was a bit pricier, the teen was not going to spare any expenses when it came to it.

As she was looking around the shop, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Turning around, the face of “Ollivander” stared at her. His face was old, just like the man in the movie and he has a mysterious look on his face, like how Trelawney looked when she gave the prophecy to Harry in the 3rd film.

“Curious,” Ollivander stated, looking up and down at the girl. “Come, my dear. I shall help you find the right wand, but we all know that the wand chooses the witch.”

Shocked that she got picked, because as she read online most of the chosen ones were around the age of 11. Guess it was her lucky day! Ollivander led her to a room at the back of the store where more wand boxes were. She went through the process of “finding the right wand” and of course, a couple of broken things here and there. At the end, when the mysterious music began and Ollivander pulled out one last wand, things began to get creepy.

“Of course,” Ollivander muttered to himself, “Why didn’t I think of it before.”

He quickly shuffled to the right and began looking for a specific wand. Grabbing it off the shelf, he opened it and showed it to the girl in front of him who was anxiously waiting. Right as he opened the box, the girl noticed that she felt a breeze pass by her. Ollivander cautiously plucked the wand out from the box and examined it.

“12 ¾ inches, Rowan wood,” He stated before angling it towards his eyes, “Phoenix feather for a core and quite flexible and bendy.”

Like the Ollivander from the Harry Potter films, he carefully handed it towards the waiting girl. As if she was scared too, the teen lifted her arm like she was drawn to it. Once she held on to the handle, a warm feeling made its way up her arm and to her chest. The background music got louder, and the spotlight was directly on her. Before she knew it, the moment was over, and the feeling was gone.

“Be careful with that one, my dear. It’s a strong one I can tell you that much.” Ollivander whispered in her ear before shaking his head.

He looked dazed for a second as if he forgot where he was. He then proceeded to tell the girl to pay for the wand if she wishes to keep it, if not she’ll have to return it. After telling him that she was going to purchase it, he let her go and moved on to the next group. At first, the girl was thinking of telling him she wanted Sirius’ or Remus’ wands, but as she looked at the wand she was given, she noticed that it wasn’t one that was displayed out in the store when she was looking around. Figuring it was a limited edition, she promptly paid for it—a whopping $52!

She moved on to the next shops as quickly as she could seeing as she had a time limit. Grabbing a few quills and parchment at Scribbulus Writing Instruments as well as some sweets from Sugarplums Sweet Shop (she couldn’t wait until Hogsmeade to get some sweets), the teen also managed to find a copy of the Marauder’s Map in one of the shops. A few more Ravenclaw (that was the house she was sorted into when she took the Pottermore test) merchandise here and there and her arms were ready to fall off.

Looking around the Alley, there was one more stop she had to go to before taking the train to Hogsmeade and that was Borgin and Burkes at Knockturn Alley. Stopping right at the entrance of the place, it was a bit concerning (and fascinating) at how different the vibe is from Diagon Alley. The air seemed cold and stale, walking along further she could make out a few wanted photos of Fenrir Greyback along the brick walls. The teen was so anxious about the dark alley that she didn’t even notice how there weren’t any people that were walking down with her anymore. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the dim lighting of Borgin and Burkes. Grabbing the handle of the door, she swung it open. One could tell the shop was empty by how loudly the bell atop the door rang (not that she noticed). The entire place screamed dark but at the time, the girl was sure there was nothing wrong with the place. In fact, the chills she got just made her fall in love with the Universal Studios even more because of how good of a job they did.

Walking around the shop the girl peered her head towards the aisle looking for all the merchandise that was usually scattered everywhere. She tried calling for a sales associate, but no one came forward. Instead, she became attracted to this one particular item on the shelf. It was an ornate music(?) box. Dark green with intricate gold detailing around it and a pointy top that acted as a handle. Not being able to help herself, she transferred the bags from her dominant hand to free it and reached out to open the lid. Upon opening it, a tune began to play. It was harmonious and very pleasant to the ears, a sort of siren song if you will.

The emptiness of the shop really helped resonate the song even more that the girl began to feel a bit odd. She felt all her limbs relaxing as she continued to listen to it, almost wanting to fall asleep right then and there. Right as when the girl was ready to set her bags and lie down, a burning sensation erupted at the pocket where she kept her newly bought wand. The pain was enough to make her yelp and sober her up. Realizing that the box made her feel freaky, she slammed it shut and gathered her belongings, trying her best to rush out of the store. Her yelp must have been loud enough to be heard from the back because she saw a man coming out of the storage room. Now the workers come out, she thought bitterly. However, the man that came out did not have the same happy and cheerful expressions the other workers had. The teen would’ve passed it off as acting but the vibe she got from this man was not a good one.

With a soft and eerie voice, the man spoke to her, “Well, well, well, a new customer I see. What can I help you find dearie?”

The girl’s eyes widened at the rotten teeth the man showed her as he smiled. Her thoughts were all over the place, but the most important one was that she had to get out of there.

“Oh, um, nothing. Sorry to bother you, I must have, uh, I must have made the wrong turn. Thanks anyway!”

Without waiting for a reply, the girl made a mad dash out of the store, her bags flying around as she made her way back to Diagon Alley. She bumped into some people (oddly enough, wearing robes now that she thought about it) and quickly apologized but did not slow down. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she ran through the winding alley and it only began to slow down once she saw the light at the end of it.

Still running at full speed, she bumped (more like crashed) into a stranger, almost falling if they haven’t been reaching out to her in order to stop her.

“Woah! Hey! Are you alright love? Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” The guy that spoke seemed to be the same age as the girl.

He was tall and had a head of messy brown hair that looked windswept except there was no breeze going around. Glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, but it still let you see his hazel eyes. A strong grip was around the panting girl’s waist to keep her upright and the other hand was holding a few parcels. If she wasn’t a panting mess, she would’ve realized how attractive this boy was.

Gathering herself from her little jog, she stepped out of the guy’s hold and cleared her throat, trying her hardest not to blush.

“Uh, thanks for that, and I’m sorry for bumping into you. I guess I was just a little freaked out from back there.” She pointed her thumb towards her back where the entrance of Knockturn Alley was.

The guy in front of her glanced back to where she was pointing, and his eyes went wide with disbelief. He placed a hand on her shoulders and lightly squeezed as he frantically looked over her as if he was expecting her features to have changed.

“Clar, what were you doing in Knockturn Alley?! Are you hurt? You said you were just going to get more quills?” The unnamed guy questioned her, concern practically dripping from his voice.

Clarissa took another step back and looked at the guy in front of her with a cautious look before she questioned him, “What did you just call me? How do you know my name?”


	2. Chapter 2

Clarissa was very confused as she stared at the guy in front of her. She was sure they’ve never met but he somehow knew her name and the worry coming from his eyes was unsettling. No one has ever looked at her like that besides her parents and brother. The guy tilted his head, showing his confusion and reached out to grab her once more causing Clarissa to take another step back.

“Clar you’re scaring me, what are you talking about?” He asked.

At this point, Clarissa noticed that he had a British accent and was also aware that she had an accent too causing her to gasp and shocking her companion.

“Oh, my goodness. What’s wrong with my voice? Why is it doing that?” She spoke aloud, eyes wide and pointing at her mouth.

“Doing what? There’s nothing wrong with your voice,” He assured her.

Clarissa shook her head, “No, I have an accent. Why do I have an accent?”

The guy raised an eyebrow and huffed out a strained laugh, “Maybe it’s because you’re English?”

“No, I’m definitely not English, I’m Canad-“

Clarissa cut herself off as she realized she was still conversing with a stranger. Directing her attention to him, she looked up and down to examine him.

“Hold on a second. You knew my name. How did you know my name? Who are you?” She questioned.

The guy stared at her for a while, taking in her face before rolling his eyes at her and letting out a sarcastic laugh, “Ha ha ha, very funny Clara, you can stop now, seriously.”

Clarissa didn’t laugh, she kept a straight face and the guy noticed.

“Clara, are you actually being serious right now? You’re not taking a piss at me, are you?” He looked intently at her eyes and searched her face for any ticks.

The way he said “serious” made it seem like he was baiting her but at the moment, Clarissa was too confused to make jokes.

“I have to take you to Mum and Dad, they’re at the Leaky. They’ll know what to do.” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along the cobblestone road.

Clarissa took her arm out of his hold, effectively making him stop, “Okay, what the hell. You’re basically going to kidnap me. I don’t know you, so please leave me alone before I get a security guard to escort you out of the Studio.”

Another confused look was sent her way, “Huh? Studio? Security guards? Clar what are you talking about, we’re in Diagon Alley… remember?”

This time, it was Clarissa who rolled her eyes as she looked around the place, about to point out the numerous security guards she could call upon before she noticed how different the tourists looked from before. There were more people wearing robes and pointed hats as well as a few people wearing flared jeans, colourful shirts, and high waisted pants. Clarissa saw real owls hooting outside of Magical Menagerie and she could’ve sworn that she saw someone use their wand to lift their parcels off the ground and follow them around.

As if sensing Clarissa’s distress, the guy jumped beside her to offer his arm when she felt her knees give away.

“Hey, hey, woah, you’re alright. I got you love,” He spoke, winding an arm around Clarissa’s waist to support her better.

“What the hell? What’s going on? Where am I?” She questioned herself quietly, but loud enough for him to overhear.

“Clara, I don’t know what’s going on, but you have to trust me. I have to get you to Mum and Dad. Something must’ve happened to you in Knockturn Alley, maybe a strong Confundus charm?” He told her, leading the way to his parents.

Clarissa grabbed him by the shirt, causing him to stop and look down at her. His eyes showed so much care and concern, and possibly lo— no there’s no way. But still, there was something about him that told her she was safe and that she could trust him.

She took in a deep breath before speaking, “Can I at least know your name? You know mine so it’s only fair.”

A flash of pain flickered through his face before disappearing as quickly as it came. He gave her a small smile before introducing himself as they began to walk again.

“The name’s James Potter love, nice to meet you… again.”

Clarissa felt her mouth drop. No, there was no way this was real. She obviously hit her head somewhere and she’s dreaming. Before she could help herself, her mouth began to move.

“James? James Potter? As in James Fleamont Potter?”

James glanced down at her again but didn’t stop walking, “So you do know me?”

Clarissa quickly shook her head and shut her mouth causing James to frown slightly. The sign of the Leaky Cauldron stopped Clarissa from questioning James and her situation any further. Once they entered, James stopped to look for—who Clarissa assumed was his parents—and began navigating towards the back of the pub where she spotted an older couple sitting with a teen sporting a head of curls. They had saved two other seats by putting their parcels on it.

Clarissa was pulled along by James who seemed to speed up at the sight of the group. When they arrived in front of them, he burst out their problem at an alarming speed.

“Mum, Dad, something’s wrong with Clara! She can’t remember me and she’s all confused about where she is. I found her running out of Knockturn Alley so something bad must have happened to her there and—”

The couple stared at their son in confusion and told him to slow down. Clarissa watched as James took a calming breath before explaining himself once more. As he told his story, the couple and the curly-haired guy stared at her as if they were expecting to see some proof of this long-winded tale. After James finished his story, he looked back at the group expecting one of them to say something.

When they didn’t, he had to prompt them by speaking, “Well? Aren’t we going to do something?”

“Prongs,” The curly-haired guy started, the nickname used caused an eyebrow raise from Clarissa, “I’ve taken Divination with Haven, and even then, I wasn’t as confused as I am at this moment.”

The couple chuckled but James groaned at the reaction he received, “Okay look, watch this.”

He turned to Clarissa who almost forgot they could see her and told her to name the people with them. She owlishly looked at the people in front of her before giving a sheepish smile and took a deep breath before starting her speech.

“Let me just preface this by saying, I actually have no idea what is going on here and that I’m only guessing that you are Fleamont and Euphemia Potter and Sirius Black. I may know that, but are you all actors or something? Is this part of the tourist attraction at Universal Studios?”

Upon stating each of the correct names, they all thought James was just pulling another prank on them, but the ending statement caught their attention. As if proving his point, he gestured towards Clarissa when she mentioned the Studio again.

“See! She’s been talking about this “studio” thing since I found her, and I have no idea what she’s referring to!”

Fleamont stood from his chair and pulled his wand out, the tip glowing as he non-verbally cast a spell to check on Clarissa. Startled by the wand, she instinctively grabbed onto James’ arm and moved closer to him. As if just noticing her actions, she cleared her throat and suddenly side-stepped away from him muttering a quick apology.

“I sense no dark curses on her. Are you alright Clarissa dear? Do you remember being hit with a spell of some sort? You know how dangerous it is at Knockturn Alley, what on earth were you doing there?” Fleamont questioned her after waving his wand around.

Clarissa’s forehead showed her frustration, “Okay will someone please explain to me what’s going on here? You keep acting like you know me, but if I’m being honest here, I know none of you! It’s a tourist attraction I was just visiting! And as much as I wish for it to be, magic is not real so can we please stop it with all the spell talk!”

Her outburst shocked all of them, even more so the things she said. Very carefully, Euphemia stood up and pulled her wand out from her robe, slowly as to not frighten Clarissa further.

“Sweetheart look at me carefully alright. I’m not going to do anything to you, I just want to show you something.”

Clarissa watched as the older woman gestured to one of the bags she was carrying, her palm turned upward, signaling her to place it in her hand. Again, she turned towards James as if looking for his support, in which he nodded his head. Clarissa gave the lady her bag and observed as she set it on the table before pointing her wand at it. She did the iconic “swish and flick” motion paired with the words Wingardium Leviosa.

To her amazement, the back that held her sweets from Sugarplum began to float in the air, higher and higher as Euphemia lifted her arm. Slowly, she set it back down on the table and gauged her reaction. She realized that if the older lady used anything but her own things, she wouldn't believe it.

“Magic is real?” Clarissa gasped in disbelief before her eyes rolled to the back of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

When Clarissa opened her eyes, all she saw was a bright white light. She raised her arms to rub the sleep out of her eyes as she sat up. She noticed that she was on a bed of some sort, and by the looks of it, she was in a hospital. All alone in the ward, she laughed to herself as she remembered her magical dream of meeting the Potters and Sirius Black. The heat must have gotten to her, she concluded in her head.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

Her head automatically turned towards where the voice came from. In front of her, dressed in all black with an AC/DC shirt on was Sirius Black. A scream erupted from her mouth and she ducked her head between her arms and rested them on her legs. Multiple sets of footsteps began running towards her bed.

“We heard a shout, is everything alright?” A voice that Clarissa recognized as Fleamont’s asked.

She felt her bed dip, “Clar, what’s going on? Does something hurt?”

Clarissa lifted her head up and made eye contact with a concerned James Potter. Losing control of her body momentarily, Clarissa reached out to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Naturally, James’ arms went around her waist as if they’ve done this a thousand times. Once again, her brain caught up with her body’s actions and as if being burned by him, Clarissa brought her arms back to her side causing James to deflate and pout.

“Where am I?” She asked them, although feared that she already knew the answer.

“We brought you to St. Mungo’s to see what’s going on. Thank goodness for James’ chaser skills otherwise we would need the Healer to check up on a cracked skull as well.” Fleamont explained to her, reminding Clarissa of her fainting episode as well.

Accepting this is definitely not a dream anymore, she asked what the verdict on her condition was. The strange thing was that physically, nothing was wrong with her. The Healer told them that the Potters could take Clarissa back home once she woke up. She didn’t put up a fight when the Potters said they should continue this at the manor and lead her towards a fireplace. James noticed her frightful expression as she watched Sirius be engulfed in green flames as he dropped the floo powder and yelled for Potter Manor.

“Dad,” James called out before his father could disappear off like his Mum, “Could you activate my portkey to the Manor. Clar’s looking a bit nervous, I don’t want her to end up somewhere else or break an ankle because of the landing.”

Fleamont looked at the girl’s face and realized that it did become a shade or two paler. He nodded his head and tapped his wand on his son’s ring. It began to glow a pulsing white.

“You remember how to activate it right?” Fleamont asked his son, in which he received a nod.

“Alright, I’ll see you both at home.”

The two watched the Potter patriarch disappear in green just like the previous times. James looked towards Clarissa whose eyes are still fixated on the fireplace. He grabbed her hands and held them tightly.

“This will be a bit better than Floo travel,” He told her before saying Potter Manor which activated the portkey.

Clarissa barely noticed anything besides the bright white light that enveloped the two. Once she opened her eyes once more, her environment changed. Instead of the stark white walls of the hospital, a deep burgundy red was everywhere. The Potter Manor had a warm undertone to it, the walls being dark red and the dark wood flooring. A giant fireplace sat in the middle of the living space with a family portrait hung above the mantelpiece.

James lead her towards the plush sofa, which she was very much thankful for because once again her brain caught up with her body and began to feel dizzy.

“Tinky!” James called out, and in a flash, a small creature with eyes as big as tennis balls and bat-like ears, wearing what appeared to be a toga, appeared causing Clarissa to shout.

James gave her an apologetic look before requesting for Tinky to bring a cup of tea for herself.

“Oh, that was a house elf wasn’t it?” Clarissa confirmed with James who nodded.

The elf, Tinky, reappeared once more but this time carrying a teacup. By the smell of it, Clarissa could tell it was earl grey. She thanked the elf as she took it off her hands.

“Yous is most welcome Miss Rissa!” Tinky said before popping off somewhere else, shocking Clarissa once more as another person from this world knew her name.

Peering down at her tea, the milkiness of it surprised her. Taking a sip, the warmth of the tea spread immediately in her body. She was taken aback because Tinky knew how to make her tea the way she likes it.

The rest of the Potters and Sirius entered the living room and sat down opposite of Clarissa which made her slightly nervous. Without noticing it, she angled herself towards James who sat on the sofa next to her.

“Dear, we’re going to have to ask you some things, alright?” Fleamont began.

The wheels in Clarissa’s head began turning. She had to quickly decide what to do. Based on what she’s seen, Sirius is already living with the Potters making it somewhere after 5th year. But what does she have to do with the Potters? Clarissa wants to talk to Dumbledore, but she knew that he’s not the best person to deal with, given how many Reddit community posts she’s read. At this point, the Potters are her best bet.

“What do you want to know?” Clarissa responded, steeling herself on what’s about to come.

Euphemia placed a hand on Fleamont’s signaling she was going to take the lead, “How about we start with which stores you visited today.”

A sigh of relief escaped Clarissa at the question that was easier to manage than explaining her existence in their world. She grabbed her bags and showed them her purchases of sweets, shirts, quills, and parchment. At the sight of the sweets, Sirius made a mad dash for the chocolate frog and of course once he opened it, the chocolate inside tried to jump and get away. It was still a bit freaky to Clarissa, so she flinched when it hopped in her direction. James trapped it in his hand which caused it to turn back to chocolate and offered a piece to her. Hesitantly, Clarissa took it and put it in her mouth. In her opinion it was the best chocolate she’s ever tasted.

James shuffled through the parchment and quills she bought, recognizing one of the pieces of parchment being the Marauder’s Map.

“Love, what were you doing with the map?” asked James, interrupting Clarissa and Sirius’ spat over who gets the cauldron cake.

James wished he hadn’t interrupted though. Seeing the two fight like that was so normal that it made him forget about the situation at hand momentarily. The both of them stopped what they were doing to look over at what James was holding. Clarissa recalled that it was the copy of the map however, this wasn’t as brand new or in its packaging like she remembered. It was tattered and old like it’s been used countless times.

“Are you sure it’s the map? Like the original?” She questioned him which only earned her an exasperated look from both lads.

“I’m sure I can recognize my own work Clar, it even has that small tear from when Moony and I were fighting over it,” James told her, pointing towards said tear.

Getting frustrated at her predicament once more, Clarissa stood up and began to pace as she prepared to go into her speech.

“What I’m about to say may sound crazy, but please I assure you I’m not. Okay, I shouldn’t be here. I was just in Orlando visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter since it was my dream ever since I read the books! You all don’t exist, you’re just part of the story!” She exclaimed.

“I went around Diagon Alley and bought all the merchandise and my last stop was Knockturn Alley to see Borgin and Burkes where they supposedly sell the darker versions of shirts and the Deathly Hallows symbols but when I got there it was empty. So, I walked around, tinkered with a music box, almost got a heart attack from one of the employees then left! I was running so I must’ve hit my head or something because honestly, I think I’ve been dreaming ever since I met James.”

By the time she finished her rant, Clarissa was breathing heavily. The Potters and Sirius stared at her, trying to absorb what was said.

“Who’s Harry Potter? Is that a relative of yours Prongs?” Questioned Sirius.

Clarissa then noticed her mistake. That was future information that wasn’t supposed to be said. She slapped herself in the face for her mistake. James only shook his head, not knowing anyone related to him by the name of Harry, his grandfather’s name was Henry Potter, but he never went by Harry.

Clarissa sat down with a sigh to calm herself down, “I’m sorry for my outburst. I wasn’t supposed to mention Harry. That’s-that’s from the future, I shouldn’t have said anything. Nothing good happens when one meddles with time.”

“It’s what, 1976? Sirius lives here now right? Or have you bought your flat yet?” Clarissa asked the curly-haired boy munching on a licorice wand.

The mention of a flat caused Sirius to sit up. He never mentioned that to anyone, not even James or Clarissa. It was supposed to be a surprise for the both of them and the Marauders. The only person that knew was Euphemia because she helped him look for suitable places. A quick glance over to her showed that she hadn’t told the brunette.

“Pads, what’s she talking about?” James asked, looking towards his best friend and brother.

Sirius stood from his spot and walked towards the seated girl. He knelt down to look into her eyes, not exactly sure what he was looking for.

“I never told anyone that, just Mum, and she didn’t tell you. So how could you know?” Sirius spoke quietly to her.

Clarissa just gave him and weak smile and a shrug. Sirius stood and explained to James about the flat he purchased and would be moving into by the end of the school year, a knowledge only he and Euphemia shared. Some part of Clarissa felt that Sirius believed in her right then, which only meant that she really was in the world of Harry Potter. A thrum in her pocket broke her train of thought as she fished out her wand.

The familiar warmth spread through her arm again like the first time she held it. This time, the warmth went straight to her head instead of her chest like last time. A memory began to unfold with the headache she received.

_Clarissa saw a younger version of herself in what seemed to be a classroom. She —as well as the other kids in the room— looked no older than 11. Everyone was waving around their wands trying their best to lift the feather in front of them. After watching her younger self succeed in doing the spell, another student caught her eye._ _A boy with shaggy brown hair and familiar hazel eyes was waving his wand haphazardly while shouting the spell._

_“James,” she heard herself say, “That’s not how you—"_

_The next thing they knew, a small explosion occurred leaving a soot-covered boy in the wake. Laughter ensued in the classroom, the loudest coming from a curly-haired boy a few seats over._

The headache stopped as quickly as it came, but it still left Clarissa in a dazed manner. Slowly, she could hear the concerned calls of her name as she took her hands off her head.

“Clar? Clar! Can you hear me, are you alright?” James asked her, his hands holding her shoulders so she could sit up.

“I-I uh, I’m fine. I just… it was weird. I saw something and…”

Clarissa looked towards James and told him, “When we were 11, did you make a feather explode in Charms class?”

James’ eyes lit up at the memory and Sirius barked out a laugh at the thought of it.

“Yeah! Yeah, I did! Did you remember that just now?” He confirmed, delighted.

“But how did I remember that? I mean, I don’t belong in this world.” Clarissa stated.

“You know what, I’m going to grab the photo album. Maybe that will jog some of her memories.”

Euphemia flicked her wand and a book came zooming from a different room straight into her hand. She passed the book to James who opened it in front of her. The moving pictures were incredible, but what was more incredible to Clarissa was seeing herself in them with no recollection of being there. A few pages passed and a certain photo caught her eye.

It was her and James on the grounds of what appeared to be Hogwarts, playing around in the snow before coming together for a kiss. She immediately pointed a finger at the photo, demanding what was going on there.

“Geez love, with the way you’ve been attached to James all day I didn’t think you forgot your own boyfriend of two years,” Sirius told her nonchalantly.

“Boyfriend?!” exclaimed Clarissa before looking up at James who was scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

“Surprise?”


	4. Chapter 4

Clarissa pushed the album off her lap and stood up to pace once again.

“What! How can we be dating?! Aren’t you in love with Lily or something?” Clarissa blurted out as she faced James.

When Sirius began laughing like a madman and James’ disgusted face, she knew something was wrong.

“Why would I be in love with Evans?” questioned James as he swatted Sirius to make him stop laughing.

“Yeah Clar, is that something else you forgot? James and Evans annoy each other to the point of death, there’s no way they could even be a thing.” Sirius assured her once he stopped laughing.

Clarissa ran a hand through her head in frustration, “But, but how- What’s gonna happen now if Harry isn’t born? I mean yeah one less horcrux, but how will they stop Voldemort if there’s no prophecy? He’ll never go into hiding now. Oh, this isn’t good.”

The mood in the room turned somber at the mention of Voldemort. Fleamont grabbed the girl by her hand to stop her from pacing.

“Clarissa, I need you to calm down and listen to me. What are you talking about? How do you know about Horcruxes?”

“It’s part of the story,” She replied meekly, “To ensure his immortality, Voldemort created horcruxes. I think there’s five right now, he’s supposed to make two others, but I guess that won’t happen… anymore? I don’t know, me being here probably messed up the timeline.”

Fleamont looked towards Euphemia, the adults having a silent conversation before speaking again, “We have to let Dumbledore know.”

Clarissa made a quick grab at his wrist preventing him from moving, “No, please, you can’t!”

Everyone in the room looked at her like she grew two heads. Of course, everyone in this room blindly trusted the man, so did she of course, but that was before she read all those things online.

“Before you get him, I want to be able to explain everything to you all first, and then we can decide how we proceed. I’m not going to do that whole cliché thing where I keep information to myself because I'm trying to protect you, I’m positive we’re all capable.” Clarissa explained to them.

Another silent conversation occurred between the couples before relenting to Clarissa’s wishes. They all sat back down again and let Clarissa tell the story of the Wizarding World. She told them of the important things, like who Harry was and how Voldemort created his horcruxes and how he was defeated, but she censored a few things like who betrayed the Potters, Sirius going to Azkaban, and how Dumbledore was setting up their future grandson for slaughter. Those things she can try her damnedest to change and telling them will only make things worse. Unfortunately, she had to tell them about James’ demise. There was a lot of yelling and tears after that, but James was uncharacteristically quiet.

Clarissa placed a hand on his and used her other to grab his face so he would look at her. The action caused James to lean his head on her hand, her thumb softly caressing his cheek.

“Hey,” James’ hazel eyes found her blue-green ones, “I swear on my life and magic that nothing will happen to you, understand?”

“And I to you,” James replied solemnly.

A soft light began to glow between the two teens, making Clarissa gasp in confusion.

“Did you two invoke a bond?! Clarissa, I understand forgot our customs, but James you know how serious those are!” Fleamont reprimanded.

James grabbed Clarissa’s hand and intertwined them and looked up to Fleamont defiantly, “Dad, I don’t and will not regret anything I said. You know Clara’s the one for me, always have been since I met her. If I didn’t do it today, I would’ve done it on our wedding day.”

The talks of marriage made Clarissa uncomfortable, but it also made her heart flutter. She tried to take her hand from James' grasp, but he only held it tighter. She looked up at him and received a smile and a cheeky wink which made her roll her eyes, the corners of her lips turning up.

Fleamont looked at the pair and sighed. He couldn’t deny the love the two shared for each other, especially on James’ end. His son has been talking about the dark-haired beauty since they first met at a Yule ball when they were 9. Even though Clarissa’s unforeseen amnesia took them aback, the love shone through her eyes and the little actions she does subconsciously.

“Alright, I want all of you to go to bed, it’s been a long day for everyone. Sirius, under any circumstances you are not to repeat a word of what they said, do you understand me?”

The patriarch of the Potter family shooed them up the stairs, stating that they will talk about this tomorrow after a good night’s rest. The three head on upstairs, Sirius sulkier than the couple because of what he was told. The curly-haired teen bid the couple a good night before heading off into his own room which left Clarissa and James at the top of the staircase.

“C’mon, I’ll show you to your room,” James said as he pulled her along down a corridor.

Looking around the room they entered, everything seemed familiar to Clarissa. Her feet took her to the large bed that was placed against the far wall. Without even changing, she plopped down onto the comfy bed. James stood by the door and watched her amusedly. Clarissa sat up again when she remembered that James was still there. Figuring this was the best time to talk about what happened downstairs, she invited him onto her bed.

“I uh, I want to talk about what happened with the bond or vow or whatever you call it,” She stated.

James nodded his head, “Yeah, for sure. I’m uh, I’m sorry if I uh, made you feel uncomfortable earlier with the whole marriage talk and whatnot, but I still stand by what I said. I don’t and will not regret what I did. You may not feel the same way right now but uh, hopefully, once we get more people involved you will, maybe, remember me, and us and—”

Clarissa cut him off by covering his mouth, laughing quietly, “Hey, I was going to say I didn’t regret what I did either.”

Taking her hand off his mouth, she placed it on her lap and began to fiddle with her fingers, a nervous tick that she had.

“I was, um, I was uncomfortable with the marriage thing, yes, but something felt right about me saying those words. I didn’t force them out of me, it just flowed right out. Besides, back in my world I always had a soft spot for you Marauders,” She told him fondly with a soft smile.

Clarissa’s confession brought out a grin from James. She may not know it, but this was his Clara in front of him, which only made it harder to remember that she’s missing a few parts of her—missing a part of him.

Clarissa looked into James’ eyes, “I know this will be harder on you than on me, but please be patient with me. It’s still hard to believe for me but with the photos and the memories, I’m starting to think I’m the one in the wrong here.”

James reached out towards her to caress her cheek lovingly making Clarissa sigh and close her eyes, leaning further into his familiar touch, “No one’s rushing you love, take all the time you need. I’ll be here for you as well as Sirius, Mum, and Dad.”

The couple’s intimate moment was broken by the chimes of the grandfather clock signaling that it was one o’clock in the morning.

James stood up from her bed, “It’s late, we should get ready for bed.”

Clarissa agreed, it was late. As much as she would love to go to bed, she knew she would have a hard time falling asleep. She always had trouble sleeping in a new environment. Watching James slowly exit her room, she bit her lip as she contemplated asking him to stay with her. Throwing logic out the window, she impulsively called out for him, halting his movement.

“Um, I-I um, I know this might be weird but, could you, um, could you please stay with me until I fall asleep?” Clarissa rushed out, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

James looked at her fondly, “I thought you would never ask. I’ll give you a few minutes to get ready then I’ll be back.”

Clarissa let out the air she was holding on to as James shut the door to her room. She got up from the bed and began to get ready, surprisingly enough (honestly at this point nothing should surprise the girl anymore) she already knew where everything was and was ready for bed in record’s time. As if knowing the girl’s routine—which he probably does— James knocked on the door right as Clarissa was preparing to go into the bed. The door opened once he was granted permission to enter.

Clarissa took in what he was wearing which were just blue striped pajama bottoms and a shirt that had a quidditch team on it, he looked so soft. James shut the door quietly before heading over to the bed. Clarissa was already settled in on her side of the bed, leaving the other side empty for James. He gently sat down beside her, smiling when she shuffled closer towards him naturally.

“I see you still have a hard time sleeping in new places,” He spoke quietly, earning a soft hum as a response from Clarissa.

Softly threading his hands through her hair, “I’m glad some things don’t change.”

James sat there quietly, touching Clarissa’s hair ever so lovingly. He only stopped once her breathing evened out, indicating that she’s fallen asleep.

Pressing a soft kiss on her forehead, James turned the light off before settling into bed beside her, “Good night love.”


	5. Chapter 5

Clarissa woke up to sunlight streaming down her face. She recalled from last night that there was a gigantic window near the bed so she must have forgotten to draw the curtains close. She groaned in annoyance and buried her face further into her pillow to block out the sun. Oddly enough her pillow seemed to hug her back, so Clarissa slowly opened her eyes and saw that she didn't bury her face into a pillow, but into James' chest.

However, instead of escaping from under his hold, she snuggled deeper into it. They fit together perfectly like two puzzle pieces. Clarissa also noticed that instead of seeing the unknown quidditch team shirt James wore last night; his toned torso was in full display. Guess all those quidditch practices and games worked out well for him. Absentmindedly, she began to draw random shapes on his torso, causing the messy-haired boy to stir from his slumber.

"Quit it love, that tickles." He murmured softly; his voice deeper.

Just realizing what she was doing, Clarissa shot up from her position, almost falling out of bed. Apologies stumbled out of her lips as James sat up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, amusement clear on his face.

"It's alright Clar, I should be the one apologizing. I forgot about your... predicament. Must've been a shock to wake up next to this huh?" He gestured to his chest, smirking as he teased her.

Clarissa rolled her eyes but chuckled nonetheless, "Yes James, I almost had a heart attack."

Quiet laughter filled the room before settling into a comfortable silence until Clarissa spoke again.

"Do we uh, do we do _this_ often then?" She gestured to the bed; a light blush dusted her cheeks.

James thought about omitting the truth, not wanting to make her uncomfortable but, he figured it would get them nowhere and would even make her remember things quicker.

"Not as often as when we were children, but yes, occasionally I would sneak into your dorms or vice versa," He told her.

"Sneak into my dorms?" Clarissa questioned before putting the puzzles together herself.

"I'm in Ravenclaw, aren't I?"

James nodded; glad she could remember some bits about Hogwarts. He watched her sit back down on the bed, turning her gaze towards him.

"Can you tell me more? About how we met, and Hogwarts?" She asked him.

As James was about to start, a loud knock came from the door followed by some yelling.

"You both better be appropriate because I'm coming in regardless!"

The door swung open and Sirius came bounding in already dressed for the day. He took one look at James' shirtless chest and smirked.

"Ah, I see you both got reacquainted huh?" Sirius asked with a smirk, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

James grabbed a pillow from behind him and chucked it towards the lad, "Bugger off Padfoot!"

Sirius barked out a laugh and just dodged the pillow, "Hey, I only came in to tell you that breakfast is ready and everyone's waiting."

Sirius picked up the pillow on the ground and threw it back to James. He ran his eyes over the both of them before waltzing out, a content smile on his face. James placed the pillow on the bed properly before climbing out.

“We should get ready, wouldn’t want to keep them waiting. Are you able to find your way down to the dining room?” James asked her, halfway out the door.

Clarissa nodded, “I’m sure I can manage to find my way.”

James accepted her response and just as he was leaving, he heard Clarissa shout his name, causing him to look back to see her fiddling with her fingers looking shy.

“I just uh, I just wanted to say thanks… for staying the night. It really helped.”

The blinding grin James got from her was enough for him to fall in love with her all over again.

“That’s what I’m here for,” James told her, giving a smile himself, “I’ll see you at breakfast love.”

Once the door shut, Clarissa flittered around her room to get ready. All the clothes she found in the dresser fit her perfectly and thankfully were things she’d wear despite the different decade she found herself in. After doing all her bathroom necessities, Clarissa looked herself over in the big vanity mirror and made her way downstairs.

Clarissa took the same path she took last night down the stairs into the living room, from here she had to use her sense of smell to find the dining area. It wasn’t hard, whatever the elves cooked smelled divine. She found herself in a big dining room, a table as long as the Malfoys was centered but the Potters and Sirius only used the far end of it.

“Good morning sweetheart!” greeted Euphemia as she beckoned her over to a chair.

Clarissa bid everyone a good morning as she sat down in front of James. Tinky came by and set down another cup of tea which she was thankful for because everyone seemed to be drinking pumpkin juice or coffee.

“How was your sleep?” Fleamont asked peering over the Daily Prophet to see her.

Remembering how she woke up next to a shirtless James was enough to make her start blushing.

“Oh, it was-it was uh great!” Clarissa stuttered out, James winking at her didn’t help either.

For a while, all that was heard was the clattering of utensils on plates which reminded Clarissa of her family. Whenever they would eat together on weekends usually, all you could hear was the scraping of utensils seeing as they weren’t very talkative so early in the morning. The memory of her family caused Clarissa to freeze on the spot, a small gasp escaping her lips. She dropped her fork just so she could facepalm herself. How could she have forgotten about her family? Were they looking for her? Did they think she got kidnapped? She wasn’t due to go home for another day so maybe—

Clarissa’s inner monologue was interrupted by Euphemia shaking her lightly. She looked up to see concerned eyes staring at her. Her fork clattering on her plate must have startled them.

“Is something the matter dear? You seem troubled.” Euphemia asked her.

“It’s just, I’ve only just remembered about my family and— “, Clarissa heard her voice tremble, her vision beginning to blur because of her tears.

“I’m such a bad daughter, gosh. I’m sorry, I’m a mess,” She hastily wiped a fallen tear away and sniffled.

“Oh sweetheart, that’s not true. Yesterday was overwhelming enough for you. Monty and I owled your folks already,” Euphemia comforted her.

“You probably don’t recall but they went down to France for the summer, but you insisted on staying here for the last two weeks of summer. We received your father’s reply before you came down, they’ll be here by 4 PM.”

At Euphemia’s reassurance, Clarissa felt a bit better but, her appetite was lost. She did finish her toast and tea at James’ insistence. After everyone was finished eating, Fleamont announced that he’s invited Dumbledore for dinner that evening along with Clarissa’s family. With that, he set his paper down and left the table going who knows where. The boys followed suit, but Clarissa stayed back to help clean but Tinky shooed her out before she could lift a plate.

“C’mon Clar, let’s go give you a tour of the manor.” James offered his arm for her to take.

Clarissa glanced down at it before smiling softly at James and wrapping her arm around his. They began the tour at the kitchen where she was introduced to the other house elves. They were wearing similar outfits as Tinky. The question about their freedom was on the tip of her tongue, but before she could even ask James reassured her that they were all free and were getting paid well.

“We’ve had this conversation before,” Was all James said when he saw her questioning looks making her laugh.

They worked their way to the main foyer where another fireplace was at. Just past the foyer was Fleamont’s study, as well a grand library that Clarissa fell in love with. She knew she would have to spend a lot of her time there in order to gather knowledge on how to destroy the Horcruxes and to catch up on six years of school.

James had to drag Clarissa out of the library, insisting that she has all the time in the world later on to camp out there. She begrudgingly agreed so the couple left the library and climbed the familiar set of stairs to the bedrooms, but instead of going to where her room was located, they went in the opposite direction. He pointed to what each door had behind it, not opening any of them to respect their privacy. The only door he did open was to his own room.

The room was similar in size to where Clarissa was staying, if not a tad bigger. Posters of quidditch teams littered the walls, the players in them zooming around, as well as a Gryffindor banner. On the far side of the room, opposite the bed, a desk stood. Random pieces of parchment covered it along with a few photographs. Curious, she walked over to examine each of them, noticing that she was in most of them. One in particular was a photograph of herself alone.

As Clarissa lifted the framed photo to examine it, a familiar pain erupted in her mind.

_They appeared to be at the Three Broomsticks, her group of friends put together two tables so everyone would fit. The flash of a camera went off every other minute, Marlene became obsessed with taking pictures over the summer, so she brought her camera with her to Hogwarts. Clarissa wasn’t paying any attention to her, too engrossed in a conversation with Sirius about his Divination class. The lad was clearly complaining about something which only made Clarissa laugh._

_James sat opposite of her, next to Marlene, staring at the girl with fondness in his eyes. It didn’t take a genius to figure out James’ feelings for the dark-haired brunette. A nudge from the blonde broke James’ stare and he quickly looked at her in question._

_“Take a picture lover boy, it’ll last longer.” Marlene teased him._

_James took the tease in stride and stole the camera off her hands and pointed it towards the girl in question, “Hey Clar, smile!”_

_Clarissa turned her head at the sound of her name and laughed just in time as James took the photo. He sent a smug smile to Marlene, telling her that photo was his when she develops them, the blonde just laughed and agreed._

_“Oi, James! Take one of me now!” Sirius exclaimed, making everyone else laugh at his pose._

The pain in Clarissa’s head subsided and only then did she feel James’ hand on her shoulder. The pain this time around wasn’t as intense, it was more like getting a bump on the head rather than a splitting migraine. Maybe that’s why James doesn’t look so concerned this time.

“That’s my favourite photo of you,” He told her.

Clarissa glanced up at James who was still looking at the moving picture of a younger her.

“At the Three Broomsticks, right? Marls was so obsessed with that camera, she never put it down; I think I went blind for a week because of all the flash.” Clarissa joked.

James took his eyes off the photo and looked at the real Clarissa with a wide smile, “You remembered!”

It didn’t even occur to her that the latter half of the sentence wasn’t part of the memory she just saw. Talking about it felt like she was reminiscing than anything else.

“Yeah, I got a flashback a while ago, the pain wasn’t as bad,” Clarissa confessed to him before gesturing back to the photo.

“Was this before or after we started um, you know, dating?” She asked him, still a bit shy at the thought of them dating.

James thought for a second before saying that it was just a few weeks before he got the courage to ask her out. The two then continued on with their tour, this time heading for the backyard. They invited Sirius along because James wanted to show Clarissa the broom shed, and the boys would most likely end up throwing the quaffle around. But to be honest, they wanted to keep an eye on Sirius who was a bit on edge after finding out what happened to James. Having both arms around the two marauders, they made their way out to the back.

“So, it might be a sensitive topic, but do I know about the marauders’ secret?” She asked them.

The boys shared a look above her head, puzzled by what she was asking them.

Clarissa rolled her eyes, “You know, Remus’ furry little problem? You all being unregistered animagi? That secret!”

The two boys shared a sound of realization causing Clarissa to giggle.

“Of course, you do Clar. Who do you think helped us with the spell?” Sirius told her.

Clarissa nodded her head thoughtfully, praying to Merlin or Morgana or whoever that she retained whatever brilliance she had in this world in order to help carry out her mission.

The three continued to talk about more things, Sirius walking backwards in front of the couple while Clarissa was still on James’ arm. It was weird for the boys to tell her things about herself but more often than not she was able to finish what they were saying or add on to things.

They reached the broom shed and Sirius went to grab two broomsticks. Realizing Clarissa’s never really done magic since finding out about it requested for Sirius to put one of the brooms on the ground.

Clarissa positioned herself next to the broom as Harry did in the movie. The boys seemed to have caught on to what she’s trying to do because when she glanced up at them, they both gave encouraging nods. Hesitantly, she hovered her right hand over the broom, feeling a bit dumb because she didn’t know if she should verbally say “Up!” or just think it.

Clarissa got her answer because as soon as she thought of the word, the broom shot up from the ground and went into her awaiting hand. She gasped in delight as she looked at the broom in awe. She already believed in magic but being able to do so herself was very different. The boys also shared her excitement as they cheered for her. Too caught up in her glee, she dropped the broom and excitedly hugged James for her accomplishment, and he hugged her back wholeheartedly.

“Nice going Clar!” cheered Sirius, clapping for her.

Sirius grabbed his own broom and saddled it, he kicked off the ground hard and hovered above the couple, beckoning her to join him.

Clarissa detached herself from James to look up at Sirius, she crossed her arms and shook her head, “Nope! No way you’re getting me on that floating stick. Nice try, but no thanks.”

Sirius looked offended at her insult towards his broom, but shrugged, “Eh, I had to try my luck. Didn’t think you’d remember that you hated flying.”

“Yeah, no. I’m still scared of heights, sorry buddy.” Clarissa told him.

“I can take you with me, we can just hover. I won’t even go higher than a couple of feet off the ground. Please, Clar?” James pleaded.

Clarissa took one look at his puppy dog eyes and felt herself crack. She bit her lip and thought about the number of ways she could fall off the broom and break something. As if sensing her worries, James nudged her chin softly so she could focus back on him.

“Hey, you know I won’t let anything happen to you right? I’ll be there to catch you if you fall.”

James offered his hand as he mounted his broom and Clarissa felt her worries leave at his words. She took his hand and positioned herself behind him, interlinking her hands around his waist.

“It’s reassuring that you’ll catch me, but that implies that I will _still_ fall, which doesn’t ease my worries too much hon,” Clarissa teased.

Clarissa felt James’ torso shake as he laughed. The kick-off from the ground was a little rocky—Clarissa squealed and held onto James tighter—but after that, it was smooth sailing. James kept his promise of staying only a few feet off the ground which she was very thankful for. The sensation of floating in the air with only a literal broom handle to keep you up was very weird for Clarissa, but it was exhilarating. She expected it to be difficult for James to maneuver the broom with another person on board, but he didn’t seem to be struggling.

“Have we done this before? Like, fly around together?” Clarissa asked him, keeping in mind to not yell seeing as her mouth was right by his ear.

James glanced back at her, “We’ve done it a few times. It’s one of the things we do to clear your mind, you know. Just to relax a bit.”

Clarissa accepted his answer because she does see how this could be very relaxing for her. As long as she didn’t look down, the breeze she felt was very calming. Resting her head on James’ back, she savoured this moment with him. The moment was broken when Sirius asked if they could throw around the quaffle for a bit. Before James could decline, seeing as she was still attached to him, she told him to let her off so he could entertain Sirius for a while.

“Are you sure?” James asked one last time, the quaffle already tucked under his arm.

Clarissa rolled her eyes and assured her that he could go play with Sirius, “Just come find me in the library _after_ you shower, alright?”

James knew he wouldn’t be able to argue any further, so he relented. Clarissa grinned and pecked him on the cheek out of habit. James found nothing odd about it because she always used to do that and just took off into the air. Clarissa on the other hand froze for a moment before shaking it off. Saying one last goodbye to the boys, she headed back inside. Thinking about her actions with James, she couldn’t help but admit that she’s getting fonder of him every second they spend together. Clarissa assured herself that these feelings were fine seeing as they’ve been dating for two years now, and besides, it’s definitely not hard to fall for James Potter again.


	6. Chapter 6

Clarissa felt at home at the Potter’s enormous library that it made her question just how much time she used to spend here. She started reading in what she would call the “kids” section of the library, books the Potters used to teach James before going to Hogwarts most likely. The books were mostly about pureblood customs which Clarissa just skimmed through, somehow already knowing what they were about.

She moved on to a few books about Hogwarts, such as _Hogwarts: A History_. Luckily for her, the library is where James stored his previous years’ textbooks. Clarissa flipped through all those books, glad that she seemed to be remembering her knowledge from their past years. She figured that she’ll be fine academic-wise, so she moved on to the darker side of her learning.

The only ways to kill a horcrux—to her knowledge— is by basilisk venom and fiendfyre (though she did have a few other ideas). There was no way she’ll be able to go down to the Chamber of Secrets and kill a basilisk unless she was feeling suicidal so her only option is mastering fiendfyre. Although there were a few books about fiendfyre, Clarissa wanted more information about it besides the background information about the spell. She wanted the dark side of the spell, explaining how to control it and the damages it will cause.

As big as the Potter’s library was, they didn’t have many dark books dealing about horcruxes. Clarissa wants to study as much as she can about horcruxes before she collects all of Voldemort’s. In the movies, whenever the Golden Trio destroyed a horcrux, Voldemort felt it. Clarissa doesn’t to be anywhere near Voldemort’s radar, so her plan is to find all of it and destroy all of it at once.

Considering she couldn’t find much about horcruxes or fiendfyre, Clarissa decided to get a head start on her academics. She was delighted to see all the entire collection of Miranda Goshawk’s Standard Book of Spells. Skipping ahead to Grade 6, she pulled out the book from the shelf and found her way to a desk. Parchment and a quill appeared before her which she was thankful for and began to take notes.

Clarissa went back and forth from her desk to the shelves to see if she could find anything else useful for her in preparing for the upcoming war. Defence spells, protective enchantments, healing potions, fighting strategies, and she even went as far as to study the law. This was how James found her, hunched over the desk with tons of opened books laying around her.

Clarissa didn’t even hear him come in, only sensing his presence once he was close enough for her to smell the familiar scent of his soap. James peered his head over her shoulder to see what she was doing, only to see her familiar scrawl that said something about a N.E.W.T level spell. Expecting nothing less from his girlfriend, he kept his eye on her as she mindlessly made notes while he shook his hair dry with his towel.

“James, I swear to Merlin if you get a drop of water on my parchment, I will slap you,” Clarissa told him, not even taking an eye off her page.

James took a step back, making sure he was out of her range as he still tried to dry his hair.

“Sorry love, you know I don’t mean it.”

Clarissa smiled to herself before setting her quill down and standing up to look at James. He’s obviously showered just like she asked and put on new clothes for the dinner later. She walked over to him and took over drying his hair for him.

“So, did you have fun with Sirius?” Clarissa asked.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” James told her with a loving smile.

Clarissa just shrugged her shoulders, “I could tell he was a bit on edge from what I said yesterday. I figured a bit of fun would keep his mind off of it.”

At the reminder of what was said yesterday the pair became quiet. Clarissa stopped drying James’ hair and let her hands hold on to the towel around his neck.

To quickly save the moment, James’ eyes flickered to the table behind them, “Getting a head start, are we?”

Blue-green eyes darted back to the parchment and books littering the table before smiling, “More of a refresher… and I supposed a bit of a head start.”

Clarissa ran her eyes over James’ face, taking in every line, every mark, and every pore. Unconsciously, she began pulling him closer to her by means of the towel around his neck until their noses touched. Just when their lips brushed, Clarissa pulled away sharply, realizing what she’s done. James sighed, disappointed that she pulled away but had an understanding of why.

James pulled her into a hug, allowing Clarissa to rest her head on his shoulder, letting him hold her. This was fine, _hugs_ were fine, but kisses? Not yet. Her apologies were muffled by James’ broad shoulders but, he seemed to understand what she was trying to get across. Clarissa pulled away slightly, just enough so she could make eye contact with James.

“This feels right,” She tells him, gesturing to the both of them.

“Every time you hold me, I… I feel safe. I feel like I’m home. I feel complete. Half of the things I do are like reflexes, sometimes I don’t even notice it. But it still feels, odd. It’s kind of like… like when you walk into a room and forget what you needed to do in there.” Clarissa tried to explain, hoping she was making a bit of sense.

“Like you knew you had to go in there, but the minute you walk in, you’re completely blank. Reaching for you, holding you, kissing you, _everything_ about you feels like that,” She elaborated when she saw James’ confused look.

“But more often than not, I still am coming up completely blank so please, don’t feel like you did something wrong or feel offended when I back or push you away. Believe me, I wish I could remember, at least us.”

James took in Clarissa’s confession and if anything, fell more in love with her. Even with her memory gone, she was still thoughtful when it came to how others felt. James wasn’t going to lie, he missed her touch and kisses a lot, and it’s only been a day. Although Clarissa has been staying close to him (considering her memory problem), it still wasn’t the same.

“I understand love, no rush, remember?” He told her with a soft smile, “How about we set some ground rules huh? And I promise I’ll try my best to abide by them and let you do all the actions.”

James took a step back from their current position, far enough that they weren’t touching each other’s faces, but near enough so he didn’t have to strain to hold her hand.

“Hugs and hand-holding are alright,” Clarissa said, thinking carefully, “And I don’t mind kisses as long as it’s not on the lips.”

James smirked and immediately kissed her cheeks causing her to blush but also roll her eyes at his cheekiness.

“And how about sleeping together?” James asked.

Clarissa’s blush grew deeper and she turned into a blubbering mess at how he mentioned it so casually. James laughed loudly before beginning to calm her down.

“I meant like what we did last night,” He assured her, “If you’re doing everything for the first time again, I assume you won’t get a good night’s rest our first day back at Hogwarts.”

Clarissa calmed down at James’ explanation and gave him the green light, “But can you please keep your shirt on!”

James shrugged and told her that she’ll have to stop casting a warming charm over her bed in order for him to sleep with a shirt on. Clarissa agreed at his request, finding it easier to deal with the cold than with a shirtless James Potter and his toned torso.

“What about you?” Clarissa questioned him, but all she got was a raised brow and a puzzled look.

“Are there things you don’t want me to do?” She clarified, but James just shook his head.

“I’m all yours to please, love.” He joked, causing Clarissa to slap his chest.

“Seriously, just do what feels natural and what you’re comfortable with, Clar. I promise I won’t get offended.”

Clarissa squeezed his hands softly, a sign of her thanks. She glanced down at the watch he wore on his wrist before realizing what time it was.

“Oh, it’s already half-past three? I didn’t realize how much time I spent here! Help me clean up? I want to freshen up before my family gets here.” She looked up at James, unknowingly using her puppy dog eyes at him.

James, of course, didn’t need to be persuaded. Anything Clarissa asked of him, he’ll do in a heartbeat. The duo gathered her pieces of parchment and stacked the books she used and left them at the corner of the desk, where they magically levitated and were brought back to their rightful place.

Clarissa left James in the living room, saying she’ll just be taking a quick shower and will meet him down there shortly. Although September is right around the corner, that didn’t stop the August heat from pushing through to the end. After spending time outside, Clarissa did feel a bit grimy and upon seeing James all bathed and washed, she felt a bit jealous. So, she hopped into the shower in her room, not taking long to wash away the afternoon dirt she accumulated.

Once Clarissa was all dressed and ready to go, she looked at her wet hair once more and glanced at the wand that was sitting on her nightstand. She recalled seeing a hot air charm in the Book of Spells Grade 5. Picking up her wand, she felt the familiar warmth run up her arm. Before she ran out of the sudden burst of confidence, she quickly muttered the incantation (pointing it away from her head at first) and to her delight, she could see waves of warm air bursting out of her wand. Directing the air to her hair, she used her wand like a blow dryer, and her hair dried within minutes.

Quickly looking at the clock in her room, Clarissa saw that she had 10 minutes left before her family arrives. Grabbing her wand, she left her room and raced down the stairs, anxious for her family’s arrival. She found James right where she left him, although he’s been joined by Sirius and his parents.

The five of them watched the fireplace, anticipating the arrival of Clarissa’s family. The chimes of the grandfather clock made Clarissa jolt in shock. James rubbed her shoulder to comfort her which worked a little, but her heart was still fighting to escape her chest.

Finally, the fireplace lit up a bright green letting them know someone was about to come through. A family of three exited the fireplace one by one. Once Clarissa saw their faces, she felt her entire body relax and her eyes water.

“Mum! Dad!” She exclaimed, shooting up from the couch to embrace her parents.

Clarissa tried her best to wrap both her parents within her arms, them doing the same to her. The letter Fleamont and Euphemia sent did not do justice to explain how distraught their daughter seemed. Once Clarissa got enough of her parents’ embrace, she pulled back to see their faces. Her dad, Dorian Nox was a tall, broad man, his dark brown hair was beginning to gray near the sides and had a sprinkle of it throughout. Despite his younger appearance, his hazel-green eyes showed wisdom and determination. Celeste Nox, on the other hand, was a different type of beauty. Her long blonde hair, almost white, fell straight down her back like a waterfall. Her aristocracy showed the most in her high cheekbones. Despite the cold color of her icy blue eyes, they showed nothing but warmth and love as she caressed her daughter’s face.

Clarissa was a perfect mixture of the two, with her brown hair and blue-green eyes that seem to turn greener when she was angry. Damon—her brother­— on the other hand, resembled their dad more. The same tall and broad stature, same brown hair as hers although a tad lighter. The only thing he seemed to acquire from their mum was her eyes, which were striking mixed with the rest of his features. Clarissa was comforted at the sight of her family, glad that there was something familiar to her in this world.

Wiggling out of her parents’ hold, Clarissa jumped into the arms of her older brother (of two years) and relished in his embrace. She was always close with her brother despite their age difference. Damon was the typical annoying brother who goes into her room just to stare at her then leave (without closing the door), but he was there when she was crying her eyes out for her failed math test and when she needed her monthly chocolates. With the way he was embracing her, there was no doubt that this Damon was any different from the one back home.

The Potters watched the Nox family’s reunion with soft smiles, glad that Clarissa seemed less stressed and more content being in the arms of her family. Fleamont didn’t want to break them up but time was ticking, and they only had just under two hours to get the full story from Clarissa and to figure out what to tell Dumbledore.

Clearing his throat to alert them of his presence, he greeted the family, “Dorian, Celeste, Damon. I’m glad you got here safely.”

Dorian, along with his wife, moved forward to politely greet the Potters. The men all shook hands, and Celeste and Euphemia gave the boys chaste kisses on their cheeks. They walked to the grand dining room for some snacks and tea, preparing themselves for Clarissa’s tale.

“Darling, please, start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out.” Her mother told her, once they were all settled in.

And so, Clarissa recounted her story, starting with the trip to Universal Studios and ending with her knowledge about the future and Voldemort, glossing over the deaths not wanting to damper the mood any further. The reaction her family showed when she told them about Lily and James helped eased the tension in the room though, with Damon choking on his tea at the thought of James falling in love with someone other than his sister. Her parents held their composure but did raise an eyebrow and shared an amused look.

Getting back to the topic at hand, the adults threw out some ideas on how they can tell Dumbledore how they acquired all of this information. It ranged from capturing a Death Eater to getting a lead and following up with research. The boldest, yet most dangerous one of them all was to have Clarissa pretend she was a true Seer. The table quieted once the idea was thrown out there, everyone knowing what being a true Seer implied.

Seers were rare in the wizarding world; true Seers were even rarer. Wizards and witches can practice the art of divination and palm reading but a true Seer’s talent is unmatched, being able to see visions and speak prophecies. Therefore, a true Seer is the most sought out person in the entire wizarding world. If Voldemort were to get a whiff of one existing, who knows to what lengths he’d go to just to capture them.

This is why James was already shaking his head at his father’s idea, he can already imagine Clarissa being tied up, beaten and bruised, and presented to Voldemort. Clarissa on the other hand thought it was a brilliant idea. It would explain the bursts of headaches she gets and her knowledge about the future. She understood the dangers of being a true Seer even though she doesn’t recall reading it anywhere, however she did find Rowena Ravenclaw’s family tree and it said that the Nox’s are descendants of hers. It was common knowledge that Rowena dreamt of a warty hog that lead her to the place where Hogwarts currently stands, therefore showing her Divination skills. A Seer popping up in the family tree wouldn’t be too far of a stretch.

Clarissa looked towards James who was still disagreeing with the plan of having her put herself at risk, so she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

“James, you know there’s no better idea than this. It’s the most believable one out of all the others.”

James still shook his head fiercely, “Clarissa! It’s going to be so dangerous for you. If He… If Voldemort even hears a _whisper_ about a Seer he won’t stop until he finds them—until he finds you!”

Clarissa felt him shake in anger through his hand as he continued to shout.

“I’m not going to let anyone just… just offer you up to him on a silver platter because of me!” He exclaimed, reminding her that he knew about his future.

Clarissa felt her own anger rise at his stubbornness, “This is more than me, more than you! We’re talking about the entire bloody wizarding world, James! If it takes just one person to save everyone else, how could I not do it?”

James felt his anger slowly wash away when he heard Clarissa’s voice shake at the end, her eyes greener than before and glassy because of unshed tears. The entire table witnessed their shouting match, unable to interject as they can obviously tell this was something more personal, they were letting on. James let out a sigh as he sat down, as he unknowingly stood up in the heat of the moment, running a hand through his hair to let go of the last of his frustrations.

“I understand how difficult it will be and I know the dangers I’ll have to overcome, but I know you’ll be there for me to catch me if I fall,” Clarissa told him, repeating their conversation from earlier.

James looked at her, wiping the lone fallen tear off her cheek, and kept his hand there for her to lean on.

“On my life and magic.” He told her solemnly, their version of a promise.

Clarissa grasped the hand on her cheek and repeated, “On my life and magic.”


	7. Chapter 7

The tension finally died down in the room, everyone accepting Clarissa’s new fate of “being a true Seer”. Thankfully, her family understood her reasons for wanting to go through with it. They were proud of their daughter for being so resilient, but like any parent, they were also very scared for her. Clarissa was just about to turn 17 (barely an adult!), and to have this massive weight on her shoulders is not something either parent wants her to bear. Still, respecting her wishes, they set for the boys to protect her secret whilst at school (unfortunately, Damon just graduated that June and will be starting Auror training in the upcoming weeks) and put their foot down at her joining the Order. Clarissa relented after they agreed to update her on the things she already knew about.

It was settled that Dumbledore will be informed about the Horcruxes through Clarissa’s “visions”, it will be brought up one by one to ensure she has full control of the situation, as well as to not overwhelm everyone. The Order will be made aware of a trusted Seer in which all this information will be coming from, but not who it is. The adults will start additional training for Clarissa and the boys who started a fit when they weren’t included, especially in Occlumency.

The conversations turned to a more positive light as they wait for Dumbledore’s arrival. The Nox’ spoke about their holiday at their villa in France, taking out the souvenirs, which were mostly pastries and a few knick-knacks for the Potter’s. In turn, the boys shared their adventures during the past weeks, their pranks, and how the new practice drills James has come up with. Clarissa listened to both sides of the conversation, feeling more relaxed and content for the first time since arriving here. Seeing her family interact with the Potter’s made her family seem whole; a feeling of warmth spread through her.

The tension came back when the clock struck six times, the sound of the floo could be heard from where they were. Albus Dumbledore has just arrived, Tinky popping in to inform them of what they already knew. Their parents and Damon steeled themselves, preparing to lie to one of the greatest wizards in the world. Thankfully, they were all adept in Occulumency because Clarissa wouldn’t put it past Dumbledore to try and check for lies. Although James and Sirius wanted to stay for the meeting, the three teens were denied attendance, something Clarissa didn’t mind. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Dumbledore trying to attack her brain, though she knew she must have had some training, they didn’t want to risk it based on her current predicament.

The two families head to the living room to greet the Headmaster and to retire to Fleamont’s office while the teens would be left to do their own thing. Albus Dumbledore, in his bright purple robes, was tall and thin. His silver beard was so long that it was tucked in his gold belt, blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

“Good evening to you all!” He greeted them; his voice full of mirth.

Murmurs of greeting were called out to the Headmaster, his eyes glancing past the people present. Clarissa made unwanted eye contact with the man that caused her to shy away from the intense gaze, tucking her body in James’ side.

“Albus, thank you for coming,” Fleamont told him, stepping forward to shake the man’s hand.

“Not a problem Monty, my friend. From my understanding, we have some important things to discuss?”

Fleamont agreed with him, “Yes, it’s a… sensitive topic that shouldn’t be discussed over dinner with the kids.”

“I hope you don’t mind waiting until around half past seven to eat dinner Albus. We could have Tinky prepare some snacks if you’re feeling peckish?” Euphemia offered.

“That’s not necessary, although tea would be most welcome,” Dumbledore declined.

“Come,” Dorian said, “Monty said his office would suffice for our discussion.”

As all the adults left for the office, Celeste stayed back to assure her daughter that everything will work out just fine and to tell the boys to stay out of trouble before following the rest of the adults. The three teens made their way to the back of the library where a set of reading couches were set up by a fireplace. Clarissa sat on the couch closest to the warmth of the fire, tucking in her legs while James sat beside her and Sirius in front of her.

The mood between the three of them was somber, the arrival of Dumbledore reminded them of what will become of Clarissa’s future. Not liking the mood in the room, Clarissa decided to break the silence.

“Will you guys tell me about Hogwarts?”

The two lads turned to look at her, surprised that she spoke.

“What do you want to know?” Asked Sirius.

Clarissa shrugged in response, “I don’t know really. I feel like I know a lot of things that could either be true or not about both of you, but I also know nothing about my life there.”

“Well, why don’t we start with what you do know,” James suggested.

“Alright, I know that you’re both in Gryffindor while I’m in Ravenclaw. We have the same group of friends for the most part. You’re both on the quidditch team, but you’re a chaser aren’t you James? Not a seeker?”

James nodded at the brunette, indicating that she was right, “Sirius is a beater if you don’t recall.”

“Yeah, Merlin, the number of times you two ended up in the hospital wing was enough to send me to an early death. I don’t understand how you both can keep playing that monster of a game. Especially after that one match where James ended up taking a bludger to the head and had to stay there for two weeks!” She told them both, not realizing that she recalled something from her life in Hogwarts.

Sirius guffawed at the memory, “He would’ve stayed only for a week and a half Clara, but your yelling gave him such a headache he had to stay for a couple of days extra.”

Clarissa pouted at the remembrance of her yelling at a disoriented James Potter for being an idiot to play such a dangerous game, which only ended up with her bursting to tears in relief that he woke up and was safe.

“Yes, well, he deserved it for making me worry so much for him,” Clarissa grumbled, making James grin and kiss her on her temple.

“Are you actually in love with Marls Sirius?” Clarissa asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

Sirius blushed a bright pink at the thought of the blue-eyed blonde and began to stutter out answers of denial that only made Clarissa doubt him even more on his feelings.

“I’m not ‘in love’ with her, but we are seeing each other exclusively,” Sirius confessed which made the brunette squeal in delight, happy for both of them.

As Clarissa went on about how cute Sirius and Marlene were, the two boys couldn’t help but fondly remember the first time she found out about the two. It saddened them that she didn’t remember but the fact that her reaction was still the same made up for it.

“Now tell me honestly James,” Clarissa began in a serious tone that made James a bit nervous if he was being honest.

“Do you really have no feelings for Lily Evans?” She asked him, looking straight into his eyes.

James sighed in relief, he thought he was in more trouble than that.

“Love, I told you already. I don’t have feelings for Lily, never have and never will.”

Clarissa looked in his eyes, searching for a hint that he was lying to her. When she couldn’t find any, she turned to Sirius who also agreed to what he said.

“You understand why I’m asking though right?” She questioned both of them.

“Harry Potter is such a vital part of the future that his inexistence could have a terrible outcome.”

“Can you tell us more? About the future… about your world?” James asked her softly.

Clarissa nibbled on her bottom lip, contemplating what she should do. If she told them about Peter, she knew they would be in denial and be outraged but the doubt will be there. Truth be told, she never knew the reason for the betrayal he committed or when. As much as possible she wants to be able to meet him first to decide.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not a good idea for you to know more than you already do. Certain things need to happen if we want to defeat the old snake, but I promise you both that I will do my hardest to make sure the future I know won’t come to fruition.”

The two marauders were disappointed at the secrecy but understood the reasoning. Clarissa abruptly stood up, startling the two as she extended her hand towards James.

“Speaking of defeating the old snake, c’mon. We have research to do,” Clarissa made a grabbing motion for James to grab.

Sirius let out a disgruntled whine at the talk of research, “Why do we have to? Don’t you already know what’s happening and what to do?”

James on the other hand took Clarissa’s outreached hand and let her pull him out of the couch.

“C’mon Pads, or else I won’t tell you about the two hidden rooms in Hogwarts that I’m certain neither of you knows about,” Clarissa tempted him, as she pulled James along to where she was doing her research earlier that afternoon.

Sirius’ head perked up (uncannily like a dog) at what Clarissa said while James raised an eyebrow in interest. Them being two of the four co-creators of the map were intrigued by these supposed hidden rooms in Hogwarts. Once they arrived at the table Clarissa was earlier, she told them of certain books to look for that might have information that they’d need. Clarissa was flicking through a book when she remembered she needed the map from the boys in order to tell them where the rooms were.

“Hon, could you please get the map for me so I could show you where the rooms are? And grab those sheets I was working on earlier from my room as well, they should be on my desk,” She asked of him, not even looking up from the book she was holding.

James smiled at the use of the affectionate term; it was the little things that Clarissa did that gave him hope that she’s remembering them. As James left, Sirius came back from the shelves with a stack of books that Clarissa asked for. Most were the same books she was looking at earlier and the rest were books Sirius thought contained practice of the dark arts and information they would need.

“So, what exactly are we researching?” Sirius questioned Clarissa, flicking through the books.

Clarissa closed one book and opened a new one from Sirius’ stack, “Well, from my knowledge, the only thing that can kill and destroy a horcrux is by fiendfyre or basilisk venom, I know, both are _very_ inconvenient methods.”

“However, I’m proposing that maybe, the killing curse can work too,” Clarissa told Sirius.

Sirius pondered on her statement and used his background knowledge on dark magic that he learned as a child to come to the same conclusion as Clarissa.

“You think that because the horcrux is part of a soul, the killing curse will be able to kill it just as it would to any other person.”

Clarissa cheekily clicked her tongue and pointed towards Sirius to let him know he guessed correctly, “It should work, I don’t see why not. That’s essentially what happened to Harry when he let Voldemort kill him, but it might be different since he was a real person and not an inanimate object.”

She said it so casually that it took her by surprise when Sirius dropped the book he was holding out of shock. Only then did she realize what she had said to him.

“That snake killed my godson?!” Sirius exclaimed angrily.

Clarissa couldn’t help but find what he said funny, seeing as she never mentioned him being Harry’s godfather.

“And what makes you think James would appoint you as his son’s godfather?” Clarissa teased him.

Sirius scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Oh please, I am so that boy’s godfather. James already promised me that role for you guy’s first child.”

Trying hard not to blush, Clarissa quickly changed the subject back to Harry and reassured Sirius that he was safe and alive. She gave him in short details the reason why he had to let himself be killed and made him swear not to tell James. At first, he disagreed seeing as it was his own son that they were talking about but after a quick promise that she’ll tell him on her own, he gave in.

The two resumed their search for information, sharing parts of the books that were useful and putting them in a pile to look back at later. James returned with the map and parchment in hand, situating himself to Clarissa’s right, putting her in the middle. She pushed aside her own pieces of parchment and pointed her wand at the map saying the magic words. Slowly ink began to appear, showing her the familiar writing of Remus and the artistic styling of Peter. How she knew that was beyond her.

“Okay, I’m going to be honest and say I don’t know how to use this map properly so could one of you show me the 7th floor?” Clarissa asked them sheepishly.

Sirius chuckled and promptly opened a few flaps to show her the 7th floor as she asked.

“I don’t remember which corridor so would either of you happen to know where the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy is? Just the general area.”

This time it was James he pointed out what she was asking for, which essentially was just an empty space on the map.

“Perfect! What you’re pointing at is the Room of Requirement, also known as the Come and Go Room,” Clarissa told them.

“The what room?” Questioned James, making Clarissa roll her eyes.

“The Room of Requirement. One can only enter if the person has a real need for it, for example, if you really needed the loo, a door would appear and it’ll be full of toilets,” She explained to the two boys.

“So, if I wanted a quidditch pitch, it would create a field for me?” James asked excitedly at the prospect of being able to fly without interruptions.

“I’ve never seen it done, but in theory, I think it should work,” Clarissa answered, thinking about it.

“Wicked!”

“Hey! Focus you two!” She snapped her fingers in front of them when she noticed she lost both of the boys to quidditch.

“This room actually houses one of Voldemort’s horcruxes.”

The reminder of why they were researching in the first place was enough to direct them back to the situation at hand.

“It’ll be easy enough to acquire, I’ll ask for Dumbledore’s permission to help with that sometime in the near future. But for now, my main use of the room will be to do research, it might have more books on the dark arts that we don’t have access to.”

“If you’re going to help find a horcrux then so am I," Interjected James with a strong voice.

“Yeah, me too!” Sirius joined.

“I figured, but that is not something we have to think about for a while. Now, show me Myrtle’s bathroom.”

Although confused at the odd request, Sirius flipped some pages over and pointed out the dead girl’s lavatory. It’s no surprise that it only showed just that and no secret chamber.

Clarissa looked at their disappointed gaze and sighed, “In hindsight, this would be much cooler if we were actually in the castle so I could show you the rooms.”

“Why on earth would Salazar Slytherin put his chamber of secrets in the girl’s lavatory?” Questioned James, judgment clear in his voice with Sirius snickering in the background.

The brunette shrugged her shoulders, “I’m not entirely sure, but it does make it easier for the basilisk to travel through the pipes.”

The snickering between the boys stopped as both their eyes widened at the news.

“I’m sorry Clara, I must’ve heard you wrong because there’s no way you said a _basilisk_ is living underneath Hogwarts, right?” Sirius asked humorously, although a flicker of fear flashed through his eyes.

Clarissa waved her hand, “Relax guys, it’s been dormant for years and it’s hidden behind three doors that can only be opened by a Parselmouth. As dangerous as they are, it’s actually pretty simple to kill them. That’s the backup plan if we don’t manage to control the fiendfyre.”

Before a conversation about fiendfyre could start, the three were interrupted by Tinky who told them that dinner was ready. A quick glance at the clock in the room showed that it was nearing half past 7. Clarissa, who would much rather stay in the library to continue her research, was pulled from her seat by James—much to her dismay— and began leading them back to the dining room. The trio took their spots and with the snap of the house elf’s fingers, dinner was served.

Dinner was a quiet affair, the adults made small talk amongst each other, Dumbledore bringing the three teens into the conversation once in a while. Although the topics never strayed too far from what they did over the summer, it still made Clarissa nervous to be in the same room as the Headmaster. Though she couldn’t feel him prodding her brain, she tried hard to only picture a vast field in her mind, just in case. Clarissa couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief once dinner finished and Dumbledore excused himself home, stating he still has a lot of preparations to do for the upcoming school year.

Once again, the house elves busied themselves by clearing the table whilst the two families saw Dumbledore out into the main fireplace. The patriarchs of the families shook hands with the Headmaster, bidding him goodbye. He grabbed a handful of floo powder that was by the mantle and threw it into the fireplace, instantly creating green flames.

“Well, I bid you all goodnight. Enjoy the rest of your summer, Messrs. Black, Potter.”

Dumbledore gave a nod to each boy before stopping his twinkling blue eyes at Clarissa, “And you as well Miss Nox. I’ll see you three in a couple of days!”

Clarissa gave him a weak smile and she watched as he stepped into the fireplace before being whisked away in the green flames.


	8. Chapter 8

Clarissa felt more at ease once the Headmaster has left. She immediately turned to her parents and demanded to know what they told Dumbledore. In short, Dumbledore knows that she’s a true Seer, the whole visions, white eyes and headaches, the whole nine yards. They mentioned to him about Clarissa “seeing” Voldemort ask about horcruxes and create some but was unable to give any information about the objects he used, seeing as Clarissa hadn’t told them either.

It calmed Clarissa down a bit to know that she’s still very much in control of how this is going to play out. She figured she needed to write down the timeline as she knew it and finish most of her research regarding horcruxes and fiendfyre before school starts in a couple of days. It will seem suspicious for her to be researching dark magic on school grounds, but she might get away with it if Dumbledore knows now, although she rather not be under watch by the Headmaster.

The adults decided that the way they’ll train her (and James and Sirius) on occlumency is by trying to find out what the horcruxes were. It gives Clarissa the incentive to keep the information well guarded in her mind. They were to start tomorrow because of how much today affected everyone, emotionally at least. The Nox’s were ready to retire to their own Manor, despite it only being half past 8 in the evening. Clarissa seemed to forget that her family came straight from France without so much taking time to rest.

As her family was saying goodbye to the Potter’s, her mother asked her if she wished to stay here for the remainder of the summer (which was only 3 days left). Clarissa was surprised that they didn’t force her to go home after what’s happened. It really showed the trust they have with the Potters. Despite being allowed to stay, Clarissa decided on going home. She wanted to stay with her family for as long as she can before going to Hogwarts. She told her family to go on ahead and that she’ll be right behind them.

Turning to James, she tilted her head and extended her hand, “Help me pack?”

James smiled softly and nodded his head. Clarissa told her family that she’ll be right along after she grabs her things, then made her way upstairs with James.

Once they made it to her room, she realized that she didn’t have much to bring back. Just her clothes, the things she bought from Diagon Alley, and the research she’s done. All the other things just stayed there, at this point, it’s not even a guest room; it’s her room now.

“Do you need me to stay with you tonight?” James asked her as he put her clothes in a small suite case that has her initials on it.

Clarissa looked up from gathering the parchment on her desk, pondering over his offer. She can’t allow herself to be dependent on him forever on something as simple as sleeping in a different bed even though she would love to wake up in his arms again.

“No, it’s alright. I need to be able to get used to it eventually,” Clarissa gave him a smile, “but thank you for offering.”

James waved off her thanks as he shut her trunk and carried it while guiding Clarissa back down to the fireplace. He stood near the mantle holding the pot of floo powder. The rest of the Potters were still in the living room area, waiting for Clarissa to go home.

“Do you wanna go first?” He asked, tilting the pot towards her.

Clarissa hesitated, still a bit nervous to travel by floo. It wasn’t like in the films where the person steps in the empty fireplace and drops the powder to activate it. Here–like in the books–they throw down the powder to activate the flames _then_ they step in.

“Um, why don’t you go through first. Then I’ll copy your actions,” She gave James a weak smile.

“Of course, love. No need to be scared, I’ll be on the other side waiting for you.”

James stepped forward and grabbed a fistful of powder before throwing it down. Bright green flames erupted in the fireplace and Clarissa watched as James stepped in them naturally with her trunk, showing no signs of pain on his person. She watched as he disappeared after yelling _Nox Manor._

Clarissa turned back towards the Potters and Sirius.

“Thank you, for all you’ve done,” She told them gratefully.

“It’s nothing, my dear. You are family after all,” Euphemia assured her.

“We’ll see you tomorrow around 9, that way we all get to have a bit of a lie-in,” Fleamont told her.

With one last round of hugs, Clarissa bid them goodbye. She copied James’ actions and steeled herself before stepping into the green flames. Although she could see the green flames tickling her skin, she only felt coolness from them and no burning pain. Once she yelled out her destination, Clarissa felt herself get whisked away at great speed. As she traveled, she noticed what seemed like other fireplaces whizzing past her, though she could not clearly make them out.

At the end, she landed— more like stumbled out— into a beautiful living area, onto James’ awaiting arms. She barely paid attention as James brushed the soot off her body, too enraptured by the beauty of the place. It was the complete opposite of the Potter's own home. Whereas Potter Manor was rich and dark, Nox Manor was pure white with white marble flooring and grand floor to ceiling windows. The accent colors were pale blues and greens, found in the throw pillows and art that hung on the walls. It reminded Clarissa of her house back in her world, though obviously not as grand, the color scheme was the same. If this was how their living room looks, she was excited to see her own room.

“Ah James, I didn’t realize you were staying the night. Shall I get Della to fix your room for you?” Dorian asked, wearing much more comfortable clothing than earlier, with a cup of tea in his hands.

James shook his head and gave the man an easy-going smile, “No, that’s alright Dorian. I’m just here to help Clara get settled in. Thanks though!”

“Alright, let Della know if you change your mind. Clarissa, when you’re settle meet us at the family room.”

Clarissa gave her father a nod and watched him exit through a set of doors, leading to who knows where. Despite not mentally knowing where her own room was, her feet definitely did. She let her body navigate her through the manor, passing a very large dining area and double doors that she knew led to a ballroom, all the way to the grand staircases. James, who was behind Clarissa, didn’t make any indications that she was going the wrong way, so she trusted her instincts and made a couple of turns before stopping in front of a door.

Clarissa took a deep breath before opening the door. To her delight, the room was similar to her own with only slight differences. The size for one was the biggest difference. There was a massive bed on one side of the room, while the other side resembled a mini library and office all in one. The walls were an ivory white while the accent color of her room was navy blue, unlike the soft colors from the living room. There were two doors near the bed which led to a bathroom and closet. Her desk was organized with stacks of parchment and quills, she also had a very nice stationery set and like James’, hers was also littered with pictures of her friends and family.

“Are you… remembering anything?” James asked, startling her a bit.

Clarissa looked at him sitting on the edge of her bed, her trunk lay forgotten on the ground. She joined him on her bed, immediately lying down after feeling the softness. James followed suit and the two faced one another, basking in each other’s presence.

“Not really, but the manor is how I remembered my house in my world, just not as lavish as this. My room is the same, though not as big. I was always minimalistic with my things.”

James nodded his head in understanding. He watched as Clarissa’s eyes begin to droop, a sign that she was exhausted after the day’s events. As much as he wanted to let her sleep, he knew that the girl’s parents wanted to have a talk with her before the night ends.

“Love,” James murmured softly causing the brunette to open her eyes fully, “Your dad wanted to talk to you remember?”

Clarissa groaned not wanting to leave her comfy bed. She pressed her face into her mattress making James chuckle sitting up himself and lifting Clarissa with him.

“Come on, go change into your pajamas and I’ll unpack your bags then we can head downstairs together,” He told her, planting a kiss on her head as he ushered her to get dressed.

Clarissa pouted but listened to what he said. As much as she wanted to go to sleep and deal with whatever happened tonight tomorrow, she wanted to get a chance to talk to her family about her life here in the Wizarding world. Quickly changing into a pair of cotton pajamas, she exited her bathroom only to see James playing with her phone. He looked very confused at the piece of glass he was holding and was shocked to see it turn on. Clarissa giggled at his expression.

“I didn’t realize that still worked,” Clarissa mused, walking over to him and inspecting her phone.

Clarissa recalled charging it all throughout her day at Universal Studios with her portable charger. She figured she’ll only get a few days’ worth from it now since the technology would be too advanced for what they had here in the muggle world, and she wouldn’t be able to plug it considering she didn’t have the right equipment.

“What is it?” James asked curiously.

“It’s your first introduction to my world,” Clarissa told him, holding up her phone as if she was presenting.

“This is a cellphone.”

James quirked an eyebrow, obviously not familiar with the term.

“Is it like a telephone?” He asked, making the connection with the two words.

Clarissa lit up excitedly, he must have taken Muggle Studies at some point in his years at Hogwarts.

“Yes! Except instead of having a cord, it’s mobile. Actually, another name for it is a mobile phone, for obvious reasons. But there’s also other cool things in it too!”

Clarissa enthusiastically pulled James down back on her bed to show him the contents of her phone. She showed him how you can play music from it and write instant messages to other people and watch films on it. His most favorite part was the camera though, loving how he was able to immediately see the result of the picture. The two spent a while taking cute pictures, though James was disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to get it developed.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Sirius would love to have one of those,” James exclaimed.

Clarissa agreed and wished she could give one to Sirius but that’s obviously not happening for another few decades.

“You can also video call with people. It’s basically like when you stick your head into the floo to talk to other people, but again this time it’s in the palm of your hands,” Clarissa ended, showing the last feature of her phone before shutting it off to preserve the battery.

James tilted his head, her explanation sounding familiar to his ears. It dawned on him why the description sounded so familiar.

“Oh, so like the two-way mirror?” James clarified.

Clarissa thought about it and realized that it’s exactly like the two-way mirror. It didn’t occur to her before that it was exactly how Facetime worked.

“Yeah! Exactly like that! Do you have yours on you? We should call Sirius and show him.” Clarissa asked, looking at James’ person to see if he had it.

“Well, I don’t have mine, but you do.”

James stood up and walked to her desk and rummaged through her drawer before pulling out a small hand mirror. It was about the size of her palm, making it easy to take everywhere.

“It’s connected to mine, but it can be spelled to connect to Sirius’ too.” He told her.

Clarissa fiddled with the mirror, “On second thoughts, I’ll show him tomorrow. It’s getting late anyways.”

James agreed and began to head back to the floo. He pointed out the direction of where the family room was despite already having an inkling of where it was. Right as James went for the floo powder, Clarissa latched on to his arm preventing him from moving. It just occurred to her that this will be the first time she’ll be without him since she came into this world. Although she’ll be with her family, she didn’t know if they were the same people or just their lookalikes. James Potter was the only familiar person to her right now.

Sensing her worries, he laid a hand on top of hers, rubbing it softly to calm her. “You’ll be okay love,” James murmured softly.

“I’m only one call away.”

At that, Clarissa squeezed his hand in thanks and slowly loosened her grip. She gave him a quick hug and ushered him off. Watching as he prepared for his departure, James gave Clarissa one last reassuring smile before the green flames enveloped him and whisked him away. She stared a bit longer at the fireplace before making her way to the family room where her parents and brother were probably waiting for her.

Taking a few turns here and there, she reached a set of doors. Placing a hand on the knob, Clarissa took some deep breaths before opening it. Inside, her mother sat on one of the couches, while her father and brother were gathered by the wall that shelved books that she can’t wait to get her hands on. All three looked up upon her entrance, her mother beckoning her to come to her side. The two men followed suit and gathered around the small coffee table, claiming their own seats.

It was an awkward few minutes, no one in the family knowing how to break the silence. Clarissa took it upon her to start up the conversation, hating every minute of stillness.

“I don’t remember much,” She started off, startling her family by the sound of her voice, “But I remember everything about you guys in my own world.”

She turned to face Damon, smiling softly as she recounted every fight and every laughter she spent with her brother.

“I remember you hitting me in the head with a soccer ball when I was eight and Mum grounding you for a week. I remember you coming to me for advice on that girl you dated when you were 16—what was her name Amara Bones?— and you freaking out that getting her to be your tutor for that plant biology class was the best thing to happen.”

Damon looked at her with wide eyes, his mouth agape but nothing coming out. Clarissa didn’t notice her brother’s reaction as she moved on to look at her parents.

“I remember dad coming home late because he went to bring food to mum and I would get annoyed whenever he wouldn’t bring me any. I remember watching Disney films with all of you together. I remember baking cookies; the chocolate ones dad really likes and him eating it straight out of the oven even though I keep telling him they’re still hot. I remember arguing with mum whenever she needs my help in the garden, but I keep telling her about my allergies…”

Clarissa took a deep breath, her ranting finally taking a toll on her. She looked up at all of them with glassy eyes, reminiscing her past was not making it easier for her when she knows these people in front of her were not the same as the ones in her memories.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… hard you know. You guys look the same to me, but all I remember are the moments from my own world and nothing from here.” She told them softly, looking down on her fidgeting hands.

“Oh sweetheart,” Her mother cooed, wrapping her arms around her, “Those memories didn’t happen in your ‘own’ world, they happened _here._ ”

Clarissa wiggled herself out of her mother’s hold and looked up at her sharply.

“What?” She asked confused.

“Clar, I did get grounded for hitting you in the head when you were eight, but I hit you with a _quaffle_ , not a soccer ball. Mum wouldn’t let me play quidditch for a week,” Damon told her.

“And I did go out with Amara Bones, you don’t remember her? She was in Hufflepuff. Her brother Edgar Bones works with Dad in the ministry. She tutored me in Herbology.”

Clarissa was speechless. It seemed that there was a counterpart of her memories from her own world to the wizarding world. This revelation made Clarissa more unsure of herself, what if she really did just dream her own world, but she belonged here? With this thought, a burst of pain erupted in her brain. Images flying past, memories of her in the wizarding world coming forth, specifically the ones she just spoke of. Like before, the pain left as soon as it came, and her thoughts were clear again.

Clarissa looked up to see worry etched on her family’s faces. It seemed they weren’t made aware of what happens to her at times when her memories come back. She quickly reassured them that the pain lessens as time goes on and that it doesn’t happen every time she remembers something.

“Clarissa, I know this must be scary for you, and it’s scary for us too. But we’re a family, and we’ll get through this together. Never forget that you’re not alone.” Dorian told her daughter, caressing her cheek.

Clarissa smiled at him and glanced at her mother and brother, and at that moment she felt that everything was going to be okay.


	9. Chapter 9

Dorian wrapped up their family meeting fairly quickly, stating that they have a busy day ahead of them tomorrow and that they all need sleep. Clarissa bid her family goodnight and they split off into their own wings; Clarissa and Damon retiring to the east wing while Dorian and Celeste retiring to the west wing. Giving her brother one last smile, Clarissa entered her room and tiredly hopped into bed.

It was a restless night for her, not used to her bedroom. It bothered her to no end that she seemed to be looking for James’ warmth throughout the night, that the warming charm was unhelpful to her. Although James’ offer echoed in the back of her mind, she didn’t want to be one of those clingy girlfriends who can’t live without their boyfriends. Instead, she laid in her bed and just closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her. It worked, although she found herself waking up every other hour throughout the night. When Clarissa saw the first ray of sun shining through her window, she gave up trying to sleep and went ahead to start her day.

Clarissa freshened up in her bathroom and made her way down to the kitchen for some tea and a light breakfast. Seeing that it was only half past six in the morning, she didn’t want to bother their house elf Della for something as simple as tea. To Clarissa’s surprise, a cup of tea was waiting for her once she reached the kitchen along with a slice of toast and jam. She saw a house elf, Della she assumed, bustling around. She gave Della her thanks and happily began munching on her toast. One by one, the rest of her family woke up, though Damon was quite groggy still. It was a quiet breakfast, no one in the mood to talk yet seeing at how early it was.

Once everyone was ready to go, Clarissa bringing her wand and phone with her (a habit she has yet to break), the Nox’s went through the fireplace and floo’d to the Potter’s manor. Fleamont and Euphemia were already bright eyed and ready for the day and she was not surprised to learn that her boyfriend and best friend were still snoring away. Clarissa was tasked to wake both the boys up while the rest of them were to plan how they’re going to be teaching the three teens.

Something in the back of Clarissa’s mind told her that it would be easier to wake up James first before she tackled Sirius. She found the messy haired, hazel eyed boy lying shirtless face down on his mattress. Taking light steps, Clarissa sat on the edge of the bed and softly called out James’ name. Since she only received grunts as her answer, it seemed that she needed to change her way of waking him up. A mischievous smile crept on Clarissa’s face as she prepared to pinch/tickle James’ side. This method was very effective as the sleeping boy jolted awake and rolled over to get away from Clarissa’s fingers. Clarissa laughed at James’ startled expression, clearly still half asleep. James became more awake once he realized who was in the room with him, crawling back towards Clarissa to peck her cheek in greeting.

“Morning love,” James murmured against her cheek.

“Rise and shine, hon. We have a lot to do today,” Clarissa told him, accepting his kiss.

Once her job of waking up James was completed, she told him to head straight down for a quick breakfast while she woke up Sirius. Unsurprisingly, it took a while to wake up Sirius. Just short of dumping water on his head, the curly haired teen finally got up and started to get ready. As he passed by Clarissa on his way to the lavatory, he was grumbling about his interrupted beauty sleep that only made the brunette chuckle.

The two marauders quickly ate their breakfast to not keep everyone else waiting. The adults split the trio up much to their chagrin, with Sirius going with Dorian and Damon while James and Clarissa stayed with the rest of the adults. As a Black, Sirius was introduced to occlumency early on in his childhood. Majority of the pureblood families taught their children from a very young age and though Euphemia and Fleamont tried to do the same with James, they were not as rough with him as Walburga and Orion was to Sirius. Unlike Sirius whose occlumency shields were up but weak, James and Clarissa’s shield has yet to be fully established. The Nox gentlemen were to help Sirius restrengthen his shields while the Potters and Nox matriarch helped James and Clarissa.

The couple were brilliant students and didn’t take long for them to grasp what the adults were teaching them. By late afternoon, all the teens have slightly stronger shields than when they began. They had to take breaks throughout the day because of how exhausting it is to form a mental shield. The three teens were moaning about their splitting headaches by the time their lessons were finished for the day. The adults told them that dinner would be in an hour and left them to their own devices. Clarissa decided to do more research about horcruxes and fiendfyre in the library, James joining her. Sirius on the other hand opted out of research and chose to go to his room to get a head start on his packing for school.

Clarissa easily chose a number of books to leaf through while James took one from her stack to read through. Tinky found the couple huddled together at a desk, quietly murmuring to each other about the things they found. The house elf interrupted their research to tell them that dinner was ready. The two families enjoyed a delicious meal, courtesy of the house elves. The Nox’s retired to their manor right after, worn out from today’s affairs.

They repeated this schedule for the remaining days the three teens had before they go back to Hogwarts. Dueling was also incorporated in their lessons, mostly from Damon but the adults also gave their input from experience. It was an exhausting three days. Unfortunately, they would be unable to continue their lessons once school starts but the teens promised to keep doing their shield strengthening exercises in their spare times and practice their dueling in the room of requirement.

It was finally the night before Clarissa goes to Hogwarts and she could not be more excited and nervous about it. The two marauders were in her room helping her pack her trunk—well James was helping her pack her trunk, Sirius on the other hand was just lying on her bed throwing a quaffle in the air. Clarissa has never been to a boarding school so she was unsure of how much she should bring in terms of clothes and what things she needed to bring. James helped her pack her school robes and her regular clothes. He started blushing slightly when he accidentally opened her drawer of knickers, but in the end gave her a suggestive smile which in turn made her blush. Quickly grabbing her underwear, she hastily stuffed them in her trunk, though not deep enough because Sirius was able to grab a particularly lacey pair with his fingers and whistled lowly. With a huff, Clarissa took them away from him, calling him a prat under her breath.

“So, you nervous for tomorrow Clar?” Sirius asked, going back to throwing the quaffle in the air.

Clarissa bit her lip as she thought about her answer.

“I mean, I’ve dreamt of going to Hogwarts since I found out about it so of course I’m excited, but…”

James paused his folding and turned to look at his girlfriend, worry etched on her face.

“But…?” Prompted James.

“I don’t know,” Clarissa said with a shrug, “I guess I’m just nervous about seeing everybody but not knowing them and classes and stuff. I mean, who knows if I can even do anything!”

James grasped her hands and guided her to sit on her bed, Sirius shuffling to make space for the two.

“We can’t say we know how you’re feeling but we’ll be with you every step of the way Clar. You don’t have to worry about being alone, that’s for sure,” Sirius comforted her.

“Pads is right love, we’ll be here for you,” James added, stroking her hand.

Clarissa smiled at her two boys softly, “You guys are the best, you know that?”

Sirius and James preened at the compliment.

“So we’ve been told,” Sirius said smugly, making Clarissa roll her eyes.

With a sigh, Clarissa stood up from her position to finish her packing. Both boys helped this time around and they finished in record time. The boys had to convince her not to bring her entire book collection, stating that Hogwarts also has an impressive library and with Dumbledore knowing about her predicament, she’ll be able to access the restricted section no problem. By eleven o’clock, the two boys were bidding Clarissa a good night and promised her they would be awake on time to leave for 10:45 sharp.

The trio will be taking the King’s Cross entrance to Platform 9 and ¾, Clarissa pleading to go through the brick wall. It didn’t take much to convince her parents or James and Sirius if she were being honest. The two marauders having only used the barrier once or twice seeing as it was more efficient to use the Floo network or for their parents to apparate them there. However, tomorrow the two families will be apparating to King’s Cross to fulfill Clarissa’s wishes.

Knowing that it will take her some time to sleep because of all the excitement, Clarissa picked an interesting book from her personal collection and dimmed the lights in her room to help her fall asleep quicker or at the very least make her drowsy. It proved to be more difficult than she hoped to fall asleep. Hearing the clock strike two in the morning didn’t do anything to ease her anxiety of what the day holds tomorrow (or later). Clarissa knew she had to rely on her foreknowledge about the characters she’s about to meet as well as trust James and Sirius for having her back on explaining why she all of a sudden doesn’t remember certain details about her so-called friends. Clarissa prays to whoever is listening that her subconscious will take the lead and help her out.

Before she knew it, Della was waking her up to get ready for her departure. With only an hour left until they had to leave, Clarissa was thankful that she packed her belongings last night. She was able to take her time in the shower and ate a small breakfast, afraid she won’t be able to stomach it because of her nerves (and also when they have to apparate later on).

“How are you feeling about going back to Hogwarts sweetheart?” Celeste asked her daughter as she watched her pick at her food.

Clarissa shrugged her shoulders, “Nervous. Excited. Scared. Like I’m about to throw up.”

Damon chortled quietly from his spot, ignoring Clarissa’s glare.

“Oh, it’s understandable you feel that way, but just remember that you have James and Sirius with you. I also want you to not be so hung up about the horcruxes and enjoy your time in school.”

Clarissa looked at her mother, appalled that she could think anything was more important than the horcruxes. She opened her mouth, ready to argue but Celeste held her hand up.

“No buts! I know they’re important but right now there’s only so much we can do about them at the moment. It’s not what you want to hear, but the best thing for you to do right now is to complete your education and practice what we’ve taught you these past few days.”

The irrational part of her brain thinks there’s nothing more pressing than destroying the horcruxes. She knew where they were so why not just do it now to get it over with? However, the more rational and logical part of her brain knows her mother is right. The only horcrux at arm’s length is the diadem. Even if she knew where the others were at, she won’t be able to do anything to obtain it or fight others for it. Clarissa knew that she has to build up her magical repertoire before proceeding with her mission otherwise she’d be a goner.

Clarissa reluctantly nodded at her mother and finished the last bit of her breakfast. It was nearing 10:45 am so she hastily climbed back up to her room to fetch her trunk. Quickly casting a feather-light charm on her trunk and shrinking it, she stuffed it in her coat pocket. Racing down the stairs, Della caught her arm before she could get to her parents.

“Missy Clary! Here, Della has grabbed your special juice! Missy must drink this before she goes, yes she must!”

Clarissa eyed the goblet Della was extending out for her to grab, confused on what this special juice could be. Damon was on his way to the living area stopped to look at the two of them, quirking an eyebrow at her, a silent way of asking what was going on.

“Should I be concerned about this ‘special’ juice Della is trying to give me?” Clarissa questioned her brother humorously.

“Oh, that’s just to help with your motion sickness. We don’t want you throwing up at the Platform now, do we?” He teased before breezing past them, but not before he got a slap on the shoulder from his sister.

Clarissa wrinkled her nose at the thought of the after-effects of apparating and downed the potion immediately, thanking Della afterward. Before she could leave, the house elf snapped her fingers and gave Clarissa a hefty package, telling her it was for Mister Jamesy and the rest of her friends. One last thanks to the house elf, Clarissa ran to where her parents were waiting and grabbed a hold of her father’s arm. She felt herself being squeezed through a tight tube, being twisted and pulled in every which way, and for a second she felt like she couldn’t breathe. The sensation was over as quickly as it started, and she found herself panting next to her father at a secluded part of King’s Cross station. Another two pops and she saw her mother and brother appear beside them.

“You okay? You took your potion, didn’t you?” Dorian asked his daughter who was still trying to catch her breath.

“Yeah,” breathed out Clarissa, “Yeah I’m fine. Della caught me on my way out. Do you mind enlarging my trunk? I shrunk it before we left.”

Clarissa pulled out her trunk from her pocket, ignoring her mother’s exasperated expression.

Before her mother could even say anything, she spoke, “Oh c’mon mum. You know they can’t tell who uses magic when we’re at home. That’s only for the muggleborns who live in highly populated muggle areas.”

Celeste sighed, “No matter, come now. The train will be leaving soon, I suppose Monty and Mia are there waiting for us already.”

Not even realizing her brother left until he came back with a trolley, the Nox family made their way to the barrier of Platform 9 and ¾ where they found the Potters waiting for them. It was surreal to see the magical barrier even though it looks like an ordinary brick wall to her. She felt herself begin to slow down as she came closer to James and the others.

“Morning love! You ready for today?” James asked her, parking his own trolley next to hers.

Clarissa glanced up at him and gave a weak smile, “Define _ready_.”

James rubbed her arm comfortingly,” I know you’re nervous and that’s okay! But this is gonna be exciting for you!”

Clarissa wanted to have more time to put herself together before she went through but seeing as the train leaves in ten minutes, she didn’t have that luxury. She gestured for Sirius and James to go through first before gathering her wits and following. It was amazing to see that scarlet train before her eyes. The loud whistle of the train woke her from her daze, and she followed her family into the bustling crowd.

Damon helped her with her trunk as she anxiously stared at the train, fiddling with her fingers. Clarissa wasn’t sure if she was ready to part from her family so soon to go to an entirely new environment. She was just starting to get used to being with the Potters and with her “new and magical” family. As if sensing her worries, Celeste hugged her tight and whispered comforting words in her ear before pulling away to let Dorian and Damon have a turn.

“It’ll be alright darling, you’ll see. We’ll owl you every day and we can meet up at Hogsmeade for lunch if you’re alright to hang out with your parents,” Celeste joked, lightly pinching her cheek which caused Clarissa to pull away while giggling.

“Clar, we should get going. Sirius went on just in case Remus and Peter didn’t get a compartment,” James told her, breaking up their family moment.

Clarissa turned back to her family and she felt her eyes sting.

She threw her arms around all of them, “I love you all.”

James helped her onto the train just as it was about to leave. Clarissa turned to wave one last goodbye to her family and watched as they became smaller and smaller as the train pulled out of the station. Once she couldn’t see them anymore, she faced James who was waiting for her.

Taking a deep breath, Clarissa looked at James with determination in her eyes, “Let’s do this.”


	10. Chapter 10

The light rumble of the train made Clarissa glad that she had taken her potion that morning and hoped it would last through the entire journey. She and James walked hand in hand down the narrow corridor looking for a familiar head of black curls. When they checked the Marauder’s usual compartment and found it occupied by others, James reached into his pockets to pull out a small mirror, similar to the one Clarissa owned.

“Pads! Where are you guys seated?” James called into the mirror.

Intrigued to see how the mirror actually works, she leaned in closer to James who turned the mirror so it faced her slightly as well. She could see Sirius’ face pop up in the device and his voice emitted from it.

“We found a compartment just four down from our usual. Evans and Marls are here too!”

The thought of seeing the actual Lily Potter—well right now it’s Evans— was nerve-racking. The supposed love of James Potter would be sharing a compartment with them. James must’ve noticed Clarissa tighten her hold on him because he squeezed her hand back and kissed her forehead, which admittedly calmed her down a touch. As they walked further down the corridor, Clarissa could hear the boisterous voice of Sirius, retelling one of the adventures they had that summer to their friends.

From where the couple stood, Clarissa could see three people whom she never thought she’d ever get to meet. Of the three there was only one male; he had sandy brown hair with faint, almost white, scars on his face. He was thin and lanky, shoulders hunched inwards as if to keep himself as small as possible. That was Remus Lupin, she was sure of it. The remaining of the trio were two beautiful girls. One was a redhead with the brightest green eyes she’s ever seen, and the other was a blonde with eyes as blue as the clear sky. They were Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon respectively.

As if their magic sensed that they were being watched, Lily and Marlene looked away from where Sirius sat and made eye contact with the brunette. Clarissa felt loved when she saw how her supposed friends light up at the sight of her. The two girls waved excitedly and beckoned for her and James to come into the compartment. A slight tug from James caused her to follow his footsteps towards the compartment. He slid the door open and let Clarissa in first, giving her an encouraging smile.

The Ravenclaw girl entered the compartment and received multiple greetings at once. The two ladies that were seated immediately stood up to give her a warm hug. Clarissa hesitantly returned the action. Once she was free from the hold of the two girls, she looked over their shoulders and blue-green eyes darted back and forth from warm brown ones and watery blue ones. A dizzy spell overtook her from the memories that infiltrated her head and she had to take a step back into James to not collapse.

Worriedly, James guided her to sit and let her rest her head on his shoulder. Clarissa buried her face into his neck, eyes shut as she tried to bear through the pain in her head. James could feel her heavy pants against his neck, upset that he can’t do much to help besides comfort her.

“What’s wrong with Clara?” Peter Pettigrew asked, a bit too loudly for Clarissa’s liking, causing her to whimper.

James shot a glare at his friend, shushing him. She heard a whisper of an apology from the plump boy. It took a few more minutes for the pain to go away and for her breathing to normalize. Clarissa slowly lifted her head from James’ shoulder, and he cast her a concerned look and he wasn’t the only one worried for her. Everyone in the compartment was shooting her looks of concern.

She gave a weak smile, “I’m fine, just dizzy is all. I’ve been experiencing lots of dizzy spells lately and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

All but James and Sirius seemed to believe her answer. To make up for causing her more pain by talking loudly, Peter offered to get her some tea from the trolley lady. Clarissa thanked him, not even aware that the trolley sold tea.

“What’s in the parcel Clar?” Remus Lupin changing the subject, pointing towards the forgotten item in her hands.

Thankful for the change in topic, she told them it was from Della for all of them. Everyone’s eyes seemed to light up and urged her to open the package. Carefully untying the ribbon, Clarissa opened the box to reveal all sorts of treats from her house elf. She passed them around, telling Remus to save some of the chocolate cookies for Peter who was also as obsessed with chocolate as the teenage werewolf. Clarissa informed her redheaded friend of the lavender scones she saw in the parcel and the girl made a quick grab for them.

The friends shared the treats with each other as well as the drinks Peter bought for them. To pass the time, they talked about what went on during the summer for them. Clarissa enjoyed the presence of everyone in their compartment. Although she didn’t get the memories back of her time with Lily and Marlene as she did for Remus and Peter, she seemed to understand the little references they made about their home life. 

A short while into their conversation, Remus and Lily announced that they had to go to the Prefects compartment and would be back later on after patrolling, but not before shooting an odd glance at the still sitting brunette. Sirius and Marlene decided to go to an empty compartment to do a little more catching up, Clarissa rolling her eyes at them, reading between the lines. Peter also made an excuse to leave, saying he wanted to go see their other friends, leaving James and Clarissa alone in the compartment.

Clarissa snuggled into James’ side, thankful for some alone time with him. Although she was getting along with everyone swimmingly, it was a bit overwhelming to interact with the people she used to only believe were fictional. The couple basked in the silence for a few more minutes, Clarissa feeling sleepier by the second.

In the end, James broke it by speaking to her softly, “Want to tell me what happened with you earlier?”

“It wasn’t anything bad, it’s just when I saw Remus and Peter, a gate flooded open with memories about them,” She mumbled.

“ _All_ of your memories with them?” James clarified; a bit put out at how easily she recovered her memories about his friends but not with him.

Clarissa could hear the hurt in his voice, so she laced their fingers together to offer him some form of comfort.

“Oh honey, I know you think it’s unfair, but you know I can’t control it. Besides, I was hoping we can make new memories instead.”

James smiled softly at her, a look of adoration in his eyes, and pressed a kiss on her head, “Of course we can make new memories, we have forever to do that together. I didn’t mean to sound upset at you, love.”

Clarissa snuggled deeper into James’ hold, the slight rumble of the train and the quiet lull was the perfect combination to put the brunette to sleep. There wasn’t much James could do while his girlfriend used him as a pillow, so he ended up taking a nap as well. His sleep was interrupted by Peter who came back to the compartment an hour later, thankfully Clarissa was still dozing off. The two marauders quietly played wizard’s chess until the rest of their friends came back.

The sound of shattering stone and cussing woke Clarissa up from her slumber. The sun was much lower on the horizon which showed that she’s been asleep for quite some time now. She saw someone sitting across from her through bleary eyes. Rubbing the sleep out of them, she could now clearly see that it was Peter. His brows were furrowed with a hand over his mouth concentrating hard on the game before him; a wizard’s chess set was levitating between himself and James. Clarissa’s slight movement caused both lads to turn their gaze away from their game to her.

“Hey Clara!” Greeted Peter with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, were we too loud?”

The brunette smiled and shook her head, “What time is it?”

James glanced at his wristwatch and told her it was a quarter past two in the afternoon. By her calculations, she’s been asleep for almost three hours now. Clarissa sat up from her position and stretched her arms, a tad sore from staying in one position for so long.

“I’m sorry hon, I didn’t mean to sleep on you for that long. Why don’t you stretch your legs and get us some lunch? I’m a bit peckish,” Clarissa apologized to James.

James shrugged off her apology and wanted to take the chance to do as she suggested but felt bad for leaving Peter in the middle of a game.

“Don’t worry, I’ll play for you. You’re losing anyway,” She assured him.

James looked insulted while Peter snickered under his breath. The hazel-eyed boy left the compartment with a scowl but winked at Clarissa to show that he wasn’t actually upset. Clarissa took James’ spot and sat in front of Peter to continue the game. She had to fight the urge to physically move the pieces rather than verbally saying the positions.

“So, where’s the rest of the group?” Clarissa asked to fill the silence of the compartment.

“Oh, they were here earlier. Lily and Marlene went to say hi to Cassie and Em. Moony popped off to the loo and Pads is probably pranking the Slytherins. They’ll be back soon,” Peter told her as his knight killed one of her pawns.

Clarissa nodded, glad to hear that the others would be joining them shortly. She didn’t know how to act around someone who doesn’t know her predicament as of yet. Despite having all her memories of Peter back and seeing them play chess countless times, Clarissa was surprised at how good he was at the game. He had well thought out strategies and didn’t just play the game with no objective as she did as a child. Clarissa could tell she was about to lose in a couple of moves when the door opened and broke her concentration.

“Well, hello sleeping beauty,” Greeted Remus with a teasing grin as he entered the compartment.

“Hello yourself Mr. Big Bad Wolf,” Clarissa responded with a smirk, “How was the meeting and patrolling?”

Peter grabbed the floating chess set and began to put it away, realizing the two of them won’t be able to finish the game since their friends were going to start coming back. Remus sat in his original seat from earlier which was on the far side next to the window.

The teenage wolf shrugged his shoulders, “It was alright, not much was going on thankfully. We mostly discussed the patrolling schedule for school which took up most of our time.”

Remus asked where James went, which Clarissa answered, though unsure what’s taking him so long. Surely he couldn’t still be looking for the trolley lady, it’s been a good 20 minutes since he left. Once again, the doors to their compartment opened, this time Lily and Marlene entered.

“Hey, you’re awake!” Marlene exclaimed, taking a seat beside her.

“How are you feeling now Clar?” Lily asked concernedly.

Clarissa smiled warmly at the two ladies, “I’m doing better thanks. I guess I just needed that nap, good thing James makes a great pillow.”

“Speaking of your boyfriend, where is Potter?” Lily inquired.

Clarissa shrugged, “He went to get some lunch from the trolley lady, but it’s been 20 minutes since then.”

Lily rolled her eyes, “He’s probably off causing havoc amongst the Slytherins with Black as we speak.”

“I’ll go look for them. I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

Clarissa stood from her seat and exited the compartment. Quickly deciding to turn in the direction James went, the brunette set off to find her troublesome boyfriend and his–for all intents and purposes–boyfriend. It wasn’t hard if she was being honest, she just had to follow the sound of cussing and screaming, and snickering if she listened hard enough. With an exasperated sigh, she hesitantly walked towards the loud commotion which was where the Slytherins usually sat (no surprises there). Clarissa side-stepped when a crowd of Slytherins came her way, faces all scrunched up in annoyance but mostly because of the horrid smell that was coming from their compartment. The smell wafted towards her and she couldn’t help but plug her nose so she wouldn’t smell it.

Amongst the thinning crowd, Clarissa spotted the tiniest of a glimmer in an empty space of the corridor. She starred at the space with her arms crossed.

“Dung bombs, really?” She asked aloud.

After a moment or so, James and Sirius appeared from underneath the cloak with sheepish smiles. Her boyfriend was carrying a basket of food, along with bottles of pumpkin juice and gillywater while Sirius folded the cloak in his arms.

“You two will probably be the first to get detentions _before_ arriving at Hogwarts,” Clarissa told the two boys as they made their way back to their compartment.

Sirius playfully swung his arm around her, “That’s the plan Clar!”

“If we’re being honest, that was pretty tame compared to our other ones,” James informed her, dropping a kiss on her forehead to appease the brunette.

The trio entered the compartment together, Sirius boasting about their prank while Lily berated him. James passed around the food he got for everyone as well as the drinks. The group shared stories and their excitement for the upcoming school year as they ate and before they knew it, the sun had set on them. The girls briefly kicked out the Marauders in order to change into their robes, Marlene rolling her eyes at Sirius’ suggestive look towards them through the glass door. Lily used to Sirius’ antics merely rolled her eyes and flicked her wand and muttered a spell that frosted the glass so they wouldn’t be spied upon. As Clarissa donned her Ravenclaw uniform, she ran her fingers over the house crest, a smile forming on her face. In just a few hours she’ll finally be able to fulfill her dream of going to Hogwarts, it’s still unbelievable to her! Once the girls finished changing, they switched places with the boys who were much quicker, due to the fact that they just threw on their uniforms without _properly_ putting them on (besides Remus of course), leaving their ties hung loosely around their necks and their shirts untucked.

Time seemed to speed up the closer they got to Hogwarts and before they knew it, they arrived at Hogsmeade station. Clarissa could hear Hagrid’s voice calling out for the first years while she was swept away with the crowd. The only reason she didn’t get separated was because of James’ tight grip on her hand. He led her towards the thestral-drawn carriage that would take them to the school. Clarissa expected to see an empty space at the front of the carriage, but to her surprise, she could see them. Perhaps it was because she could see them in real life than in a film that made the thestrals all the creepier. As far as she knew, she’s never seen anyone die, but maybe it’s because she already knew what they looked like from her own world which is why she could see them now. Clarissa glanced at her companions who seemed to be completely oblivious to the animals, so she figured she could mention it to James some other time.

The carriage ride to Hogwarts was quiet with only soft murmurs from Sirius and Marlene, and the occasional question from Peter to James on what kinds of desserts he thinks will be at the feast. Clarissa took the time to observe the environment, from the trees and the stars to the massive wall that borders Hogwarts. She was especially curious as to what Hogsmeade looks like seeing as she didn’t get a chance to go to the Universal Studios’ location of the place. From around the bend, she could see the massive castle which made her gasp in wonder.

James glanced at her and grinned, “Amazing isn’t it?”

Clarissa continued to stare at the castle in awe not even looking at James to answer his question but nodded.

“Absolutely magical.”


End file.
